Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 38, September 21, 2024
(a) Under section
4(e) of the act (43 P. S. §
333.104(e)), an employer may
pay a 60-day training wage to an employee under 20 years of age based upon the
minimum wage required under section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(29 U.S.C.A. §
206(a)).
(1) The training wage under section 4(e) of
the act is as follows:
(i) Until July 23,
2007, $5.15 an hour.
(ii) Beginning
July 24, 2007, $5.85 an hour.
(iii)
Beginning July 24, 2008, $6.55 an hour.
(2) The training wage may not be utilized
after July 23, 2009. An employer shall pay the minimum wage of $7.25 to all
employees subject to exclusions contained in the act commencing on July 24,
2009.
(b) An employer may
pay an employee the training wage up to the day before the employee's 20th
birthday. On and after an employee's 20th birthday, the employer shall increase
the employee's pay to the minimum wage required under §
231.101 (relating to minimum wage
increase) even if the 60-day period has not expired.
(c) The 60-day period is calculated as
follows:
(1) The 60-day period starts on the
first day of work.
(2) The 60-day
period is counted as consecutive calendar days and not as days worked or
business days.
(3) A break in
employment does not affect the calculation of the 60-day period of eligibility
and does not allow the employer to restart the 60-day period.
(4) An employee under 20 years old may be
paid the training wage for up to 60 consecutive calendar days after initial
employment with any employer and not just the first employer who hired the
employee.
(5) An employee eligible
for the training wage may be employed at the same time by more than one
employer if the employers are separate and distinct.
(6) An employee may be initially employed
only once by any one employer even if there are breaks in employment.
(d) An employer shall notify an
employee at the time of hire of the training wage under this section and the
right to receive the Pennsylvania minimum wage contained in §
231.101 after 60 calendar days or
at the employee's 20th birthday if the employer utilizes this training
wage.
(e) An employer may not take
any action to displace or partially displace an existing employee to allow
hiring of persons eligible for the training wage under this section. This
includes any of the following:
(1) Reducing
an employee's hours.
(2) Reducing
an employee's wages or employment benefits.
(f) An employer may not do any of the
following:
(1) Utilize the exclusions and
exemptions contained in the act and this chapter if the employer is paying an
employee the training wage under this section.
(2) Utilize the wage payment exclusions and
exemptions of the act and this chapter for an employee when the 60-day training
period has concluded or when the employee is ineligible for the training wage
under this section. The employer shall pay the employee the minimum wage
required under §
231.101 when the 60-day training
period concludes or when the employee is ineligible for the training
wage.
(g) An employer is
not required to provide training to an employee paid the training wage under
this section.
