The First Minimum Wage Laws

This was just three years after Congress had voted down an amendment to Title VII to include age discrimination as an unlawful employment practice (www.eeoc.gov). In 1972, Title VII was amended to include the Equal Employment Opportunity Act which promises equal opportunities for all of mankind. The Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1973 which prohibits the Federal Government, as an employer, from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. In 1976, in General Electric Co. v. Gilbert, the Supreme Court ruled that health insurance for employees providing sickness and accident benefits for any disability but those arising as a result of pregnancy did not constitute sex discrimination under Title VII (www.eeoc.gov).

The Fair Labor Standards Act was first introduced and passed on June 25, 1938 and became effective on October 24, 1938 within that bill minimum wage was first introduced (Grossman). The bill itself was an issue because the supreme court kept turning down the bill but after countless attempts, the bill was passed a year later. President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced that bill in hopes for fair pay as he states “all our able-bodied working men and women a fair day's pay for a fair day's work” (Roosevelt). President Roosevelt basically wanted to end the injustice and inequality many workers faced when receiving payment. Minimum wage has been and is currently an issue because of the augmentation on the cost of living and low income many workers

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

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 was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwagebwp.pdf)

On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once

The federal minimum wage act was enacted on June 24, 1938 it started at twenty five cents an hour which would equal $3.50 today. The law was enacted to reduce the amount of poverty that had come about during the great depression. Looking at the past years of the wage when adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage reached

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.

It was introduced by the 32nd POTUS Franklin Roosevelt, and was referred to as the Fair Labor Standards Act (Sessions). The first minimum wage set in the country paid workers 25 cents an hour. As noted on the website Bebusinessed.com, minimum wage is deliberately set up so it does not rise with inflation. It can only rise if congress believes it should. In other words, lawmakers from the house and senate who make an average of $174,000 annually decide whether or not the wages should increase. Looking at how the minimum wage has increased over the years; in 1968 the base rate at its highest level was at $1.60/ hour which is equivalent to $10.75 today. From 1990 to 2009 the minimum wage has declined sharply since its highest point. In understanding how minimum wage works, it is important to understand who it is intended to help. 64% of minimum wage workers are part-time while 36% are full-time workers (Tufts). It remains a matter of pure debate on if a higher minimum wage causes unemployment. The benefit would have a greater impact on low-income Americans than the risk it poses. "If the US economy were 9% bigger than it is today, it would have created about 11 million additional jobs. Imagine how great that would be for both American workers and

For potential employees in the United States, one of the first things people want to know is what how much they are going to be paid. Minimum wage has been and continues be a very important topic for workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1938 to protect our workers during the Great Depression under Franklin Roosevelt. According to the book, Legal Environment of Business: Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and Global Issues, “the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for workers (Cheeseman, 2016, p.454).”

News stories abound with demands from workers, organizations, and lawmakers to increase the federal minimum wage. Headlines throughout the country highlight recent minimum wage policy changes in major cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle. Last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced an approved minimum wage increase to $15 an hour for all fast food workers in the state (McGeehan). Even the website for the White House has a separate page, “Raise the Wage,” advocating for Congress to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour ("Raise the Wage"). The most commonly held beliefs supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage are the potential lifting of families above the poverty line and the reduced demand for governmental assistance promised by livable wages. Democratic legislators believe people who work hard in the United States should receive living wages that combat poverty. Emotions flare over the minimum wage debate due to its strong connection with poverty and governmental assistance. While the issue tugs at the heart, people must also consider the issue logically in order to avoid unforeseen consequences. Increasing the federal minimum wage will have negative effects on training opportunities, non-wage compensation, and labor competition.

In 1938, The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed and it amongst many things set a Federal Minimum Wage of 25 cents, regulated the amount of time and employee could work as well as essentially eliminating child labor. Darby Lumber Co. which was in Georgia was charged under Section 15 with violating the Fair Labor Standards Act because he did not pay his employees the minimum wage as well as forced them to work longer hours without overtime pay.

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).

Minimum wage introduced by the congress as the subdivision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. At that time, congress set the minimum wage at 25 cents an hour. According to Tricia Hussung, Business Analyst, in 1968, adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage

Minimum wage law causes business to input less and earn more. However, though there’s an increase in wages in the economy, there may be a decrease in labor and labor hours. On another hand, minimum wage laws may cause an increase in profit for the producers, which can create more jobs for the consumers.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This section crafts a compliance theory framework offering a variety of explanations of when and why actors comply. After a brief clarification of few key terms, it presents the various schools of compliance theory, emphasizing the implementation mechanisms suggested and the different actor logics underlying them. The purpose of the theoretical framework is twofold: it allows the identification and categorization of existing implementation mechanisms, including the ones departing from the classical legal top-down approach; and it constitutes the basis for the argument that an effective system for implementing minimum wage should combine soft mechanisms (such as persuasion and capacity building) and hard mechanisms (e.g. sanctioning), as well as measures to empower workers. 3.1 Disambiguation of terms: Compliance, Implementation and Enforcement