Minimum wage laws essentially determine the lowest hourly wage rate that employers are required to pay to their employees to perform their labor. These laws are legitimized expansively in terms of their coverage and also provide exemptions and restrictions to their applicability according to different dynamics such as a worker’s age, a company’s size, the industry type, whether workers collect tips, the type of work that is being performed, etc. The minimum wage laws are applied regardless of whether an employee is paid by the hour, by salary, by piece, or by commission, except if there is a specific exception that can be applied. (employment law handbook) The state minimum wage rate requirements are fundamentally governed by legislative actions …show more content…
For the most part, those who approve the minimum wage are associated with labor, while those who have conflicting views are with business. The first advantage includes that employees who are able to cover the cost of living are highly confident and determined. Secondly, individuals are more productive with the implementation of minimum wage. Also, a minimum wage serves as an incentive for economic growth by providing employees additional money to spend. This essentially causes escalations in demand and business returns. As another advantage, employees who have sufficient time and money are able to invest in their own education which further increases their productivity. It develops the appeal of the nation's labor group. A more sophisticated labor force portrays a growth in innovation and the amount of small businesses. Minimum wage laws help individual businesses since it is less probable for employees to leave and find a higher-paying job. As a result, there is a reduction in turnover and costly …show more content…
For instance, no employee working in a full-time job would be living in poverty. A job should lift workers out of poverty instead of keeping them in it. A federal minimum wage increase to $15 in 2024 would increase wages for the parents of 19 million children, almost one-quarter of all youngsters across the United States. This increase would benefit more than 41 million workers, 90 percent of whom are adults over the age of 20. Also, the Raise the Wage Act would change the outdated and imbalanced subminimum tipped wage. Since 1991, the subminimum wage for tipped employees has been secured at $2.13 per hour. Although tips are expected to enhance the subminimum wage, these are likely to be unsteady and seasonal, frequently making workers vulnerable to wage theft, and further increasing the gender-wage gap as more women are seen to be tipped workers. Tipped workers are more likely to live below the federal poverty line than the general labor force, and more than 46 percent of tipped workers obtain federal assistance. The rising the minimum wage would help ensure our economy works for all families, not solely the top one percent. American employees have plenty of years without a genuine raise, and this is specifically true for minimum wage employees. Though, labor productivity has multiplied since the late 1960s, the compensation for workers usually and for low-wage workers in
The minimum wage requires employers to pay their employees a minimum amount of money which is based on the current version of the law, which is raised every year to adjust the living costs. There are some advantages and
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 14% of the nation lives below the poverty line, the current population is 326,474,013, and 45,706,362 of the population lives in poverty every single day. One of the reasons why such a large chunk of the population is in poverty is because they are not being paid a reasonable salary for them to support themselves and their families. Raising the minimum wage can lead to problems, but gradual increases are made over time, it could be beneficial for millions of people around the nation. The positive effects of raising minimum wage is what makes it worth it. A raise in minimum wage can be beneficial; however, it must be a
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
Raising the federal minimum wage allows individuals to be able to provide for themselves and their families without the need for some type of government assistance. One report explains that families with workers only earning minimum wage rely on those workers for 59% of the families’ total earnings (Fox). Many people associate minimum wage jobs as starter jobs for high school students, but the reality is that the number of college graduates working in minimum wage jobs has more than doubled over the past five years. The majority of people who are earning minimum wage are
Raising minimum wage would help lift many Americans out of poverty. Minimum wage now is 7.25 in Alabama right now, a worker that does forty hours a week comes to around $290 a week. Add the four week in a month and that’s around $1160. Most of this goes to rent because buying a house is out of the question, some goes to utilities, food, and clothes, and if a person get lucky maybe than can afford to get basic cable at the end of the month. Now tell
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.
Is it better for the economy to have a minimum wage or does it ruin the economy? Minimum wage is part of how the economy works. It deals with how much you may get paid or what might a customer give you in tips. Minimum wage has laws, helps with small businesses, and helps restore the wage for tipped workers.
Minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employee can earn from work. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the minimum wage law on June 25, 1938. However, the United States has not always had a minimum wage. The United States minimum wage has been in effect since the Great Depression. Before then there was no minimum wage and there certainly were not any legislation to look after workers from development. Many of workers had to work in awful environments such as factories and sweatshops and they were only paid a few pennies a week. The minimum wage started at 0.25 cents per hour and the maximum workweek at 44 hours in 1938. As of today, the federal minimum wage is at $7.25 an hour, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
When the minimum wage goes up, money will get shuffled back into the economy once the lowest earners can invest. “It also would help the economy by supporting consumer spending that in turn supports job growth” (Source 1). Once the lower class starts to earn more they become capable of consuming more, so in the long run it would benefit employer. Although some may argue that a higher minimum wage would hurt employers, it would not due to a gradual change. Also, more consumption of products creates more jobs which helps the economy and the general
Minimum wage means the lowest amount that is allowed to be paid to an employed worker per hour. The federal minimum wage, meaning the minimum wage throughout the United States is $7.25, however, many states have chosen to raise theirs. The minimum wage must be raised because it will help lift people out of poverty and it will reduce the amount of spending on government programs. Raising minimum wage will help people get out of poverty. According to Census.gov, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.
“When’s our next meal?” asked a local eleven-year old boy to his mother, who works three jobs to provide for her four children. “I don’t know.” she responded back. Unfortunately, this is reality for some people in America. Despite the stereotype, the majority of people getting by on minimum wage are not teenagers in high school working part-time, but adults working full-time, often multiple jobs, to sustain their family. Raising the minimum wage would help people in need get out of poverty (and thus reduce inequality and help them afford basic essentials), spur economic growth and reduce federal spending, and keep up with inflation and productivity gains.
The minimum wage leads to an increase in the standard of living. According to the International Labor Organization, the existence of the minimum wage in the country provide an incentive for getting a job, rather than live on unemployment benefits. If the state introduces a minimum wage, then there is a narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor.
Initially the minimum wage law was introduced to reduce poverty and inequality. Proponents of the Minimum wage do believe that these laws attain to these objectives. They do guarantee that the workers at the bottom level of the pay scale are being treated right and don’t get underpaid as the result of the belonging to a particular race or sex. They also guarantee that the workers are receiving a reasonable compensation from the employer (Cho, n.d.). The proponents of minimum wage also believe that it may have a positive reflection on the work ethics of the low-pay workers, thus it may benefit employers. It is also might encourage more people to join the workforce instead of trying to gain earnings by the means of unlawful methods, such as prostitution, selling narcotics
The federal minimum wage is a clearly defined wage that must be paid by businesses to their employees. Failure to accommodate the federal minimum wage is violation of federal law and punishable by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor. Debate over the minimum wage rate has been revived in recent years, largely due to President Barack Obama’s belief that the minimum wage should be increased. Currently the minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour. The minimum wage is $2.13 for a worker who receives tips, assuming that the wage with tips amounts to at least the federal minimum wage. There appears to be a fairly even split in those who believe the wage should be increased and those who believe it should not change; this would be the reason debate over the issue
Moving along the list of advantages, increasing the minimum wage will also increase the amount of money workers have, which, in turn, will inspire them to increase their consumption and pump their extra money into the economy. If workers have more money going into their pockets from increased wages, the income effect comes into play, and provides an incentive to go out into the market and buy goods and services. In an article printed by The New York Times, it was also pointed out that raising the minimum wage would decrease labor turnover. This is because if workers are paid more, they have less incentive to leave their current job and seek a higher paying job.