Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. said Tuesday that he signed Omaha’s minimum wage ordinance, even though the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office won a temporary injunction last week to stop a similar ordinance from taking effect in Lincoln.
Like Lincoln’s ordinance, the Omaha one seeks to keep the minimum wage for all workers, including those under the age of 16, at $15 an hour. That’s what voters originally approved in 2022, but the Nebraska Legislature earlier this year approved a lower wage of $13.50 an hour for 14- and 15-year-olds as well as a 90-day training wage of $13.50 for anyone under 19.
The Omaha City Council, on a 4-3 vote, approved the ordinance last week.
Ewing said there were two reasons he chose to sign the ordinance.
First, he said, just about everyone has experience earning minimum wage.
“My experience informed this decision because teenagers, even younger ones, often help supplement their family’s overall income. I used my own teen wages to buy school clothes, which reduced the burden on my parents,” Ewing said in a statement “This ordinance will help families. It is the right thing to do.”
Secondly, Ewing said he is aware of the legal issues but is “confident the city can successfully argue for Omaha having its own minimum wage ordinance.”
Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ office could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, but it seems likely he will go to court to stop the Omaha law from going into effect.
On Friday, a Lancaster County District Court judge granted a temporary injunction against the Lincoln ordinance, which had been set to go into effect Saturday. Judge Lori Maret’s order essentially said Hilgers had standing to sue, but she did not rule on the merits of the case.