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The increase in minimum wage has led to a decrease in students' hours

by Virginia Tirpaeck and Michelle Santos
Exchange Staff

     Despite a recent increase to the minimum wage in New Hampshire, a decrease in student working hours in some departments on campus has led to pay cuts for a number of students.

     The minimum wage was increased this year to $6.50 an hour from last year's $5.15 an hour. This wage increase may lead some Franklin Pierce University student workers to think that their weekly paychecks will be higher. This year, however, some students who were once able to work 20 hour weeks at $5.15 an hour and earn $103.00 are now limited to 15 hour weeks at $6.50 an hour, leaving them with a weekly paycheck of $97.50, a $5.50 decrease from last year as a result of hour decreases by individual departmental heads.

     Student sports trainer Andrew Lehman said that his hours went from "20 to 15 because of the pay increase."  He worked the same job in years past and although the hourly pay was less, he was able to work more hours to receive a larger paycheck.

     In the library, a student worker said that her hours were reduced so that she is now allowed to work a maximum of ten hours a week.  The reasoning given for this hour decrease is that the hour decrease was to allow more student workers to be able to work in the library.

     Executive Director of Student Financial Services Kenneth Ferreira said in an e-mail that "Student Financial Services has no authority on reducing student employment schedules."   He also said, "My sense is that in light of the wage increases that student employees have seen as a result of minimum wage increases, perhaps supervisors have reduced workforce hours to spread their student employment budgets further." 

     Students looking for on campus jobs can contact financial services for information on work study and job availability in the student financial services building.