Increase in Minimum Wage = Decrease in Morale

My daughter works in a clothing store at a nearby mall. She has been there since May of last year, which I believe may be a record for length of time in a first job for a teenager. She was hired in at minimum wage, and over time has earned two small increases in her hourly rate. She has received positive reviews, and has been named Denim Expert for the store. Her most recent paycheck was the first to reflect the increase in minimum wage. While it still resulted in an increase for her, it also brought all the employees to the same rate level (with the exception of the managers, of course). So the employees who were just hired last month are now making the same hourly rate as her. It definitely is not fair, but it seems kind of obnoxious to complain about a raise. Obviously no one thought this scenario through. As a small business owner myself I understand the increased cost to the company for the change in minimum wage. But I also know it is a lot more expensive to hire and train a new employee than to reward one with a proven track record. In the meantime, Katie has an interview with a law firm this afternoon. C'est la vie!