If a bill lowering wages for teenagers becomes law, Sherry Dawson figures she could rehire a worker her hamburger stand lost last month when the state's minimum wage rose to $8.55 an hour.

The owner of Kings Row Drive In in Selah, she has about a dozen workers between the ages of 16 and 18. For most, it's their first job.

But starting them at the highest minimum wage in the nation is so difficult she recently cut her evening staff from six to five, she said.

"I have to watch everything," Dawson said. "The (employees) that are here, they have to work harder."

House Bill 1928 would change that. It would allow workers under 18 in Washington state to be paid the federal minimum wage, which is $6.55 an hour, with an increase to $7.25 an hour in July.

Sponsored by state Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, the bill would also allow workers under the age of 16 to be paid 85 percent of the federal minimum wage, or $5.57 an hour.

Under a federal training wage, employers are allowed to pay workers under age 20 as little as $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days of employment.

State Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, said the state's current minimum wage, which is scheduled to increase every year according to the national cost-of-living index, and tough labor laws are keeping many youth from gaining work experience before turning 18 years old.

"I think we ought to be creating more opportunities for kids to work and this would help with that," he said. "We're talking about kids who are working their first job."

But the Washington State Labor Council has a different opinion.

"Once you start establishing substandard minimum wages for certain classifications of workers, then it becomes a slippery slope to include workers in other fields, such as agriculture," said state Labor Council spokesman David Groves. "We don't think it makes sense to create an incentive for employers not to hire adults. This aims to fix a problem that doesn't exist."

Teens as young as 14 are allowed to work in stores, offices, restaurants and movie theaters, but can only perform certain duties. State labor laws allow employers to pay them only 85 percent of the state minimum wage -- $7.26 an hour. But once they turn 16, their pay increases to $8.55 an hour.

"Most of my kids who come to work here, this is their first job and a training wage, that would be awesome," Dawson said. "That would give the employer a chance to find out if they want to work here or if they're here just to pick up a paycheck."

Employers have watched the minimum wage increase by more than $3 an hour since voters a decade ago approved a ballot initiative that scheduled annual increases in the minimum wage.

On Jan. 1, the minimum wage climbed from $8.07 an hour to $8.55 amid a national recession. With their payroll costs rising, employers like Dawson say they have no alternative but to reduce staff.

Lawmakers sponsoring House Bill 1928 don't see it getting approval this session.

"I just don't think the majority party is interested in having any discussion about minimum wage," Armstrong said of Democrats. "It doesn't hurt to keep trying, though."

At least one local Democrat, former Yakima City Councilman and Sub Shop owner Ron Bonlender, sees some merit in trying to establish a tiered minimum-wage system.

He said workers under 18 should be paid less because strict labor laws restrict the duties they can perform.

At his sandwich shop, he shies away from hiring anyone under 18 because they are too young to legally operate a meat slicer.

Even if the minimum wage bill were approved, strict labor laws would still keep youngsters from many jobs, said Greg Luring, who owns nearly a dozen McDonalds restaurants employing roughly 500 workers in the Yakima Valley.

Minors are not allowed to cook, work construction or operate machinery and can only work part time.

"So this is an area that's fraught with risk and makes management more difficult and it's not an answer for me," Luring said. "We have room for a few (workers under 18), but I can't run my business on it."

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749, or at pferolito@yakimaherald.com.