Minimum wage for student employees increased to $6 per hour

Minimum wage for student employees increased to $6 per hourApril 21, 2001Mark Owczarskimaowczar@syr.edu

Effective July 1, 2001, the minimum wage for all student employees at Syracuse University will increase from $5.15 per hour to $6 per hour. According to Christopher Walsh, executive director of financial aid and scholarship programs, the decision is based on favorable changes in Federal Work Study funding, market factors, and the University’s desire to include students in its Fair Wage Initiative. “In the tight Syracuse labor market, students have found higher paying jobs off campus,” says Walsh. “An increase in minimum wages at the University will encourage more students to work on campus.” Beginning July 1, the percent of Federal Work Study wages paid by the federal grant will increase to 66 percent–up from 60 percent this year and 50 percent in previous years. In addition, the University is increasing its standard federal work-study award from $2,000 to $2,400. “These combined changes should be sufficient to offset the impact of increased work-study wages on departmental budgets,” says Walsh. “This will allow students to continue to work the same number of hours per week, at a higher wage, while costing the departments less.” Departments that hire nonwork-study students must absorb the additional costs of the $6 per hour minimum in their existing budgets. On Feb. 12, Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw announced the Fair Wage Initiative, which will raise the base pay of the University’s lowest-paid employees over the next three years.