As a business owner in Portland, I employ 20-plus teenagers, and I gave many of them their first job.
The new minimum wage in Portland, no matter where it ends up – $10.68 or $15 an hour – will have some unintended consequences for teen workers, especially for those age 14 and 15, who are required to get a work permit. Many business owners will look for more seasoned mature workers and forgo hiring young teens.
I tried to get the City Council to put in a training wage for work-permitted teens in the new ordinance, but they lacked the foresight to make it happen.
The new minimum wage will have winners and losers, but the biggest losers will be hardworking teenagers.
Larry Davis
Hallowell and Peaks Island
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Related Stories
Latest Articles
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.