Minimum Wage And The Labor Act Of 1938

There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.

The minimum wage is the minimum amount of compensation an employee must receive for performing labor. Minimum wages are usually established by contract or by government legislation. Prior to 1938, there was not a federal minimum wage. The New Deal was a series of domestic programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938 under the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. The program was in response to the Great Depression, in order to help stimulate and rebuild the U.S. economy. One statue of the New Deal was the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).

The idea to raise the US FMW has been gaining traction in recent years. While some states and cities taken it upon themselves to enact legislation to raise minimum wage in their jurisdictions, to raise it across the entire country is a different debate. In this paper I will provide history pertaining to when and why minimum wage came to be in the US. ...

Life is a struggle and finding a job and paying your bills is not always easy in this world today. A major debate that has been an issue is whether there should be a law to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the lowest hourly salary an employer can pay an employee for their work. According to Williams (2013), “The minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938”. The first minimum wage was 25 cents per hour. Since then, the minimum wage has been increasing as the last increase of Florida's minimum wage was an increase of 14 cents on Jan. 1, 2014. This federal increase makes it 68 cents higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Gibson (2014) states “Obama, who last year called for an increase in the

The topic of increasing in the federal minimum wage has been hotly debated in Congress and between politicians and activists since the most recent increase to $7.25 in 2009. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 proposed a $10.10 federal minimum wage increase but failed in Congress, while a more recent proposition, the 2016 Raise The Wage Act, hopes to put wages at $12 per hour by the year 2020 (14). Propositions like these seek to allow lower-income working families to earn a living wage but they have faced resistance by conservatives. Stagnation of wages has caused various cities and states to spearhead minimum wage increases at a local level, with twenty-nine states now having wages higher than the federal minimum (13). Raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour would correct for years of deteriorating wage values and would pull hard-working families out of poverty while lessoning income inequality and boosting the economy from the bottom up with minimal costs to businesses.

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the benefits for an increase, then the disadvantages, and in the last paragraph, I will

The first federal minimum wage mandated by the government was in 1938. When the first minimum wage became law in 1938, it was set at just 25 cents. Today, the federal minimum wage mandated by the government is set at $7.25 an hour. “Many states have their own set minimum wages, which are currently above $7.25 per hour already. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. D.C. 's new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states,” (Halvorson). The last time that the federal minimum wage mandated by the government was changed was over 8 years ago. “The last time Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was on May 24, 2007. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials has shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25% more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%. But the minimum wage remains at

Millions of americans face this reality everyday. In order to bring millions of people above the poverty line, the minimum wage needs to be raised. Just like every problem, there is a point in time where it originates from.   This problem is not a problem that has recently arisen, it dates way back. One article states, "The national minimum wage was created by Congress under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938,"("Minimum Wage").

In this essay I will be discussing minimum wage legislation and minimum wage. I will be defining minimum wage and explains what minimum wage legislation is. This essay will be answering question like what is the minimum wage law, and why was it made a law in the U.S. or what minimum wage pay rate would I like to see as the minimum wage rate. I also will be discussing the reason why fast food workers are seeking a higher minimum wage. I will be using the book compensation by Milkovich and the internet to apply facts and answers to this paper.

The modern minimum wage was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) Franklin Roosevelt signed the law which passed by an overwhelming majority (Grossman, 1978). While a minimum wage is certainly an altruistic idea and one that receives widespread public support, there is a question among economists such as Richard Burkhauser as to the effectiveness of minimum wage on reducing the level of poverty. “Minimum-wage increases (1998-2003) did not affect poverty rates overall, or among the working poor” (Burkhauser & Sabia, 2007). In addition, some of the minimum wage laws which came before the FLSA were challenged in the Supreme Court, such as in Schecter Poultry Corporate v. U.S in 1935, and declared unconstitutional. While there

Concerning the wage rate, the United States government has intervened to maintain a lower limit on the hourly wage rate of a worker’s labor by implementing a price floor known as the minimum wage rate. This legal floor on the market price of labor sets a minimum hourly pay rate for workers in the United States. Effective July 24, 2009 the federal minimum wage rate is $7.25; in states that also have minimum wage laws the employee may be subject to both federal and state minimum wage laws, in which case they are entitled to the higher minimum wage rate (U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 2011). Since the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was created in 1938 the federal minimum wage rate has gradually increased from $0.25 in 1938 to $7.25 present (U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 2011). Although continuing to increase the minimum wage rate may include potential positive factors, it would hinder the U.S. economy overall.

The controversy over what to establish as the official minimum wage in the United States has been debated and argued over for many years. Due to inflation, the gradual increase of pricings due to a saturation of printed currency, the minimum wage for workers has to be increased in order to compensate for the ever-fluctuating value of the U.S. Dollar. Many today are rising to the conclusion that a minimum wage of fifteen dollars an hour is necessary. This motion is designed to keep those who have minimum wage income out of poverty and to increase the amount of money in the consumer’s pocket overall. However, this particular increase in minimum wage will lead to the inevitable downfall of the United States’ economy and be a catastrophe for the working class.

The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, from the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (U.S., 2009).