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Facts - Books - News    U.S. Facts Of Law:

Employment Wages

 

Wages are sums of money paid for a specified quantity of labor.  When expressed as an amount of money for a specific time frame it is called a wage rate.  The wage rate is usually the most important aspect of negotiation with regards to the employment contract.

A salary is a wage that is normally not paid by the hour but more often at a monthly or annual rate.  The term, salary, derives from an earlier time when employee wages included, among other things, salt.

Wages in the United States are mostly market driven and heavily dependent upon the number of jobs available versus the number of qualified workers available to fill those jobs.  Hourly wages in the U.S. vary depending upon the job requirements and worker availability and can vary from a minimum wage of a few dollars per hour up to one hundred dollars per hour or more.

Minimum wage rates have been established by federal and state governments in an effort to prevent exploitation of low skilled, low paid workers.

Minimum Wages In The United States

The first minimum wage established by the federal government was $0.25 per hour as established by the National Recovery Act of 1933.  The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1935 that the law establishing the minimum was was unconstitutional and it was abolished until 1938 when Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act again establishing the minimum wage at $0.25 per hour again which amounted to $3.22 in 2005 dollars.  The federal minimum wage reached its highest purchasing power in 1968 when it was set at $1.60 per hour or $8.85 in 2005 dollars.

During the 1990's states local jurisdictions were allowed to set their own minimum wage above that established by federal statute.  Some states and cities have enacted legislation that increases the minimum wage above federal levels.  The most notable is the City of San Francisco which currently has the highest minimum wage of any jurisdiction in the United States.

 

The debate over where to set the minimum wage rages around two issues.  The first being the supposed right of any worker to receive sufficient income to lead a normal life.  This is opposed on the other side by the second that stresses that wages should be market driven and some businesses are placed at a disadvantage when forced to pay a higher wage than that set by a free wage market.  The latter can have a disastrous effect on the economy if business is forced to pay some workers more than they produce in return.  Some have proposed indexing the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index thereby eliminating the debate each time a higher rate is proposed.

Below is a list of the recent minimum wage as set by each state for those jobs covered by the minimum wage laws.  Some jobs which are in small companies or include tip income may be subject to lower minimum wage rates.  Some local jurisdictions may have higher minimum wages within states and are not noted.

Legal Minimum Wage by State

* Federal $5.15 (29 USC Sec. 206)

* Alabama No state minimum wage law.
* Alaska $7.15
* Arizona No state minimum wage law.
* Arkansas $5.15
* California $6.75 ($8.50 in San Francisco)
* Colorado $5.15
* Connecticut $7.10
* Delaware $6.15
* District of Columbia $7.00
* Florida $6.15 (as of mid-2005; thereafter rises with inflation)
* Georgia $5.15
* Hawaii $6.25
* Idaho $5.15
* Illinois $6.50
* Indiana $5.15
* Iowa $5.15
* Kansas $2.65
* Kentucky $5.15
* Louisiana No state minimum wage law.
* Maine $6.35
* Maryland $5.15
* Massachusetts $6.75
* Michigan $5.15
* Minnesota $6.15
* Mississippi $5.15
* Missouri $5.15
* Montana $5.15
* Nebraska $5.15
* Nevada $6.15
* New Hampshire $5.15
* New Jersey $6.15 (Increases to $7.15 in October 2006)
* New Mexico $5.15
* New York $6.75 (Rising to $7.15 on January 1, 2007)
* North Carolina $5.15
* North Dakota $5.15
* Ohio $4.25
* Oklahoma $5.15 ($2.00 for work not covered by federal minimum wage)
* Oregon $7.25 (with future increases based on the inflation rate)
* Pennsylvania $5.15
* Rhode Island $6.75
* South Carolina $5.15
* South Dakota $5.15
* Tennessee $5.15
* Texas $5.15
* Utah $5.15
* Vermont $7.00
* Virginia $5.15
* Washington $7.35 (with future increases linked to inflation)
* West Virginia $5.15
* Wisconsin $5.70
* Wyoming $5.15

 

 

Employment Wages Best Sellers from Amazon.com

How the University Works: Higher Education and the Low-Wage Nation (Cultural ...
by Marc Bousquet
Amazon Price: $19.80
Customer Review: Marc Bousquet has written quite a book that deserves to be widely distributed not only in academia but to any organization involved in labor issues. The University (capitalized as generic) may be the main topic but the background and consequences app...

Harvard Business Review on Compensation
by Alfred Rappport, Alfie Kohn, Egon Zehnder, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert D. Nicoson
Amazon Price: $13.57

The Sin of Wages: Where the Conventional Pay System has Led Us and How
by William B. Abernathy
Amazon Price: $18.00
Customer Review: I first read this book for a graduate psychology class and have since referenced it in several papers and given several copies to business people I know. Basically, it solves the problem of how to align people's personal agendas (pay), with organiza...

Women in the Global Factory (Inc Pamphlet)
by Annette Fuentes, Barbara Ehrenreich
Amazon Price: $6.00
Customer Review: I first read this book (original printing) as a college student for a class on the social situation in developing countries. This book is excellent. While brief, it gives an excellent introduction into the working conditions of women in sweatshops....

The United States of Wal-Mart
by John Dicker
Amazon Price: $11.01
Customer Review: Oh heavens! What you will learn about the disgusting behemoth called Wal-Mart!!
If you are like me and hate W-M and the ruination of small business they have caused in America, you will love this book. If you happen to like the Waltons and th...


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Employment Wages News

Area Wages Increase But Still Far Behind States Best Pay Daytona Beach NewsJo...
DAYTONA BEACH Average annual wages rose in the Volusia Flagler area in 2007 from 2006, with Volusias increase outpacing inflation, according to figures released by state employment officials Wednesday.

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1 What are the main statutes and regulations relating to employment

A Quarter Of Pub Turnover Spent On Wages Publican
Pubs spend more than a quarter of turnover on staff, according to research by the Association of Licensed Multiple Reatilers ALMR.

Employees Have Options If Pay Is Refused Carroll County Online
File a claim for unpaid wages with the Employment Standards Service of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The ESS will conduct an independent investigation and try to collect any wages it determines are due.

Labour Market Discrimination Still A Big Problem In OECD Countries OECD
02/07/2008 Women are 20 less likely than men to have a paid job in OECD countries and they earn on average 17 less than men, according to the latest edition of OECDs Employment Outlook . At least 30 of the gap in wages and 8 of the gap in employment rates result from discriminatory practices in the labour market.

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