Just as soon as the badly needed minimum wage bill passed in the Delaware legislature, Rep. Ramone and other Republicans were working to gut it, introducing an amendment HA4 which would pay some workers $5.81 an hour in June 2014 when the bill goes into effect.

That would mean 75 percent of the minimum wage could be paid to anyone under the age of 18; anyone who is within the employee’s first 180 consecutive calendar days of employment with the employer; or anyone employed in a seasonal capacity.

This would penalize many coastal Sussex families who already work in restaurants, motels, and shops with seasonal part-time jobs to make ends meet. Frankly it is unjust and cruel. Small businesses do not have to gain competitive advantage on the backs of their most vulnerable workers. If they can’t make a profit based on the excellence of their product and service then they deserve to go under.

Beth Doty
Rehoboth Beach