If there's going to be a $7.50 youth minimum wage it will be up to you and I to decide.

The group opposing the lower wage for workers under the age of 18 has collected enough valid signatures to be put on next year's ballot according to the South Dakota Secretary of State's office.

For the proposed wage hike to appear on the ballot, supporters needed to collect 13,871 signatures by June 29. A validated 5% sample showed that 17,077 valid signatures were collected, far more than the 13,871 required by law.

South Dakota voters approved an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour by a 55-45 margin last fall.  But in the last legislative session, Republicans passed an exemption to the law, which sets a separate minimum for employees under the age of 18 at $7.50 an hour.

Democrats and organized labor want to repeal the wage scale-back through yet another referendum. Their hope is that the minimum wage will remain at $8.50 for every worker, regardless of age.

The issue will be put up for a vote and appear on next year's ballot as Referred Law 20.

Source: KSFY

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