Minimum student wage rate climbs 20 cents

BYU-Idaho initiated its annual student wage rate increase Jan. 1, raising the minimum rate from $5.90 to $6.10 and encouraging the use of the three-tier student employment classification to equalize the pay-rate throughout campus.

“Everyone should start at $6.10 as of the first pay period [of the year]. We’ve had some problems with people expecting the raise before this, [but] it will be effective at the end of the pay period, Jan. 15,” Grant Johnson, student employment director, said.

The tier system, implemented in May 2002, has been established to encourage equal pay in each of the university’s departments.

“This three-tier system is to do away with over-pay. [The administration was] worried that one student in one department was getting paid more than another student in another department who has the same skills,” Johnson said.

The three different levels include regular student employment, lead students and specialists, and coordinators.

The regular student employees are those students who come into the job with limited work experience, Johnson said. They are also trained on the job and are hired on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The lead students are those who gain their experience on the job and then advise other students in the same area. Specialists need some kind of certification for their field of work, Johnson said.

The coordinators are those students who have a one-year minimum college education and who have proved their leadership qualities, Johnson said. These students also work closely with lead students who, in turn, work with regular student employees.

Each level has a different pay rate, but departments decide student’s rates above the minimum student wage rate individually.

“Any differences in [the minimum student wage rage] are based on who the student works for, the job they are doing, how long they have been there and how the supervisor feels about the student’s work,” Carla Ricks, director of personnel services, said.

BYU-I raises its rate annually to stay a step above the federal minimum wage.

“Our policy at BYU-I is that we try, where possible, to anticipate when the federal minimum wage is going to increase,” Johnson said. “We want to give our students the benefit of having their wages higher than the Federal minimum.”