Minimum Wage Thesis

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Minimum Wage The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) was one of the important economic programs for stimulating and rebuilding the U.S. economy from the Great Depression. Its main tasks were to protect child labor, set a Federal minimum wage and claim over-time pay. In the meanwhile, it established the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) within the Department of Labor (DOL) to assist the program. According to the article Minimum Wage Overview: Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, at the beginning of the program, Congress found “a few employers who paid substandard wages caused a decrease in wages within their respective industries, because other employers sought to compete in the marketplace with lower-priced goods. Congress also…show more content…
$7.25 an hour is the basic minimum wage that employers must pay to employees. For workers with different situation, FLSA has its rules. For example, tipped workers may be paid less than the basic minimum wage, but their wages plus tips should not be lower than the basic minimum wage. For workers with disabilities, employers will provide them a special minimum wages (SMWs); and the purpose is to give them opportunities to work. For workers age under 20, there is a “youth opportunity wage” for them and the minimum wage is lower than the basic minimum wage. Also, there are other different types of workers and FLSA has relevant strategies for them. Moreover, FLSA provides employees the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees (EAP) exemptions from the minimum wage and overtime requirements, but the premises are employees must pass certain duties tests and be paid at least $455 per week. For the child labor, a child’s parents can provide his/her work in both a business and a farm. However, if the child is under 18, no one can hire them for mining or…show more content…
In fact, low-wage workers is not just faced the problem of low income, but the increasing inequality and declining living standards. The public would like to raise the federal minimum wage at the local level, but raising the minimum wage blindly will hurt the economy. There are a lot of debates around the minimum wage and the contents are generally about if minimum wage redistributes wealth efficiently. The minimum wage law is a great tool to redistribute society wealth and brings workers’ self-respect and social standing. According to the article Justice at Work: Minimum Wage Laws and Social Equality, “minimum wage can increase workers’ hourly pay, which can enhance workers’ self-respect by improving their material lives and by increasing the social value attached to their labor. Moreover, minimum laws can alter workplace power relationships. Also, minimum wage laws alter the economics of low-wage employment” (Brishen P1548) The minimum wage laws provide workers a platform to combat with employers if employers ask them to bear duties. For low-wage workers, the minimum law will deliver additional resources to them and force employers and

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