APRIL 1: HIKE IN MINIMUM WAGE LEVEL

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Employers are bracing for a 45-cent hike in minimum wage, effective Monday April 1. The new level carries the wage floor to $4.25 an hour, the first time the figure has topped $4.

The increment is expected to have some repercussions in the service industry, where sales clerks traditionally earn relatively lower salaries than in other industries.

"The increase means between $3,000 and $6,000 more in payroll monthly," said Jerry Davis, who operates McDonald's restaurants in the region. Of the 200 employees in his restaurants, about one in five work for minimum wage.

"I can't give it away," Davis said. "The price on certain items on the menu will be affected. We cannot cut service."

McDonald's and other fast food eateries are involved currently in the "burger wars," which have dropped hamburger prices to 49 cents and cheeseburgers to 59 cents at many fast food restaurants. The new "value menus" featuring these and other specific price reductions will not be affected, Davis said. Prices on other menu choices will be changed to make up for the increased expenses.

Overall, payroll composes 18 to 22 percent of the total expenses in fast food restaurants.

Davis said wages for other employees making more than minimum wage may be bumped upward to correspond to the minimum wage growth.

The minimum wage rose one year ago from $3.35 to $3.80 an hour by federal mandate. The wage level had been at a plateau for almost a decade. The last increase occurred in 1981, with a 25-cent boost. The minimum wage rose steadily since 1974 until 1981.

Minimum wage standards were initiated in 1938 with a 25-cent an hour level. In 1939 it then advanced by 20 percent to 30 cents an hour.