Spirit Lake, Iowa — Apparently there was some confusion about a provision in a bill that passed the Iowa legislature before it adjourned for the year.
We asked Iowa First District Representative John Wills about the provision of the bill that freezes minimum casino wages (such as those at Grand Falls Casino near Larchwood) at $9.06 per hour.
A spokesman for the Iowa Gaming Association says starting hourly pay for casino workers is usually above nine dollars, but the minimum for casino workers is currently the federal minimum wage, plus 25 percent. But, he says, if the federal minimum wage increases to 15 dollars, the hourly wage floor for casino workers would go to at least 18-dollars-and-75 cents an hour — and the thought was that that would be a significant issue for the casinos.
Representative Wills says the provision does freeze the minimum casino wage at $9.06 per hour as of December 31st, 2021, BUT, if the federal minimum wage goes above that amount, the minimum casino wage would then just follow the federal minimum, without the extra 25 percent. He says it would not freeze it at $9.06 per hour indefinitely, as some people originally thought.
