The future of 15-hundred employees in American Samoa maybe on the line if the territory is included in federal move to raise the minimum wage to seven-dollars-25 cents over the next two years.
The comments were made by the Department of Commerce director Faleseu Eliu Paopao, who testified during a joint legislative hearing regarding the federal minimum wage bill pending in the US Congress.
He says if the federal measure includes American Samoa, then the Government would need to add 25 million dollars to its annual budget to keep the 15 hundred employees.
The government's budget for 2007 stands at 286 million dollars.
