minimum wage
minimum wage
minimum wage
min′imum wage′
n.
| Noun | 1. |  minimum wage - the lowest wage that an employer is allowed to pay; determined by contract or by law |
| 单词 | minimum wage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 | minimum wageminimum wageminimum wagemin′imum wage′n.
minimum wageminimum wage,lowest wage legally permitted in an industry or in a government or other organization. The goal in establishing minimum wages has been to assure wage earners a standard of living above the lowest permitted by health and decency. The minimum has been set by labor unions through collective bargaining, by arbitration, by board action, and, finally, by legislation. Introduced (1894) in New Zealand through compulsory arbitration, it has become part of the social legislation of many countries. Although federal minimum-wage laws were at first held unconstitutional in the United States, a strong fight by organized labor for enactment culminated in the passage (1938) of the Fair Labor Standards ActFair Labor Standards Actor Wages and Hours Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1938 to establish minimum living standards for workers engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including those involved in production of goods bound for such commerce. ..... Click the link for more information. , which set minimum wages at $.25 per hour for workers engaged in interstate commerce (with some exceptions); the act also set up industry committees to recommend rates for every industry. In 1950 the minimum wage was raised to $.75 per hour. Thereafter, it was raised several times (for example, in 1956 to $1.00, in 1963 to $1.25, and in 1968 to $1.60). In 1974, Congress passed a bill providing for a gradual increase from the prevailing $1.60 per hour to $2.30 per hour by 1976. The bill also extended minimum-wage rules to some 8 million workers not previously covered, including state and local government employees, most domestic workers, and some employees of chain stores. Additional increases raised the minimum wage to $3.10 per hour (1980), $4.25 (1991), and $5.15 (1997). Legislation passed in 2007 raised the minimum wage, in three stages, to $7.25 in 2009. Since 1989 businesses earning less than $500,000 annually have not been subject to minimum-wage rules. A number of states and cities have minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage. See also wageswages, payment received by an employee in exchange for labor. It may be in goods or services but is customarily in money. The term in a broad sense refers to what is received in any way for labor, but wages usually refer to payments to workers who are paid by the hour, in ..... Click the link for more information. . BibliographySee S. Richardson, The Minimum Wage (1927); G. F. Starr, Minimum Wage Fixing: An International Review of Practices and Problems (1981); S. Rottenberg, The Economics of Legal Minimum Wages (1982). Minimum Wagethe wage level of a worker performing simple, that is, unskilled labor. Under capitalism the minimum wage is based on the subsistence wage, which is directly connected with the value of labor power as a commodity. Capitalists try to set the minimum wage below the value of labor power and to reduce the conditions for the reproduction of labor power to the lowest physiological limits. But the struggle of the working class prevents this, as does the influence of the world socialist system, where living standards are rising at a rapid rate. In the advanced capitalist countries, as a result of an intense class struggle the minimum wage is now set by legislation, as well as by agreements between employers and trade unions over hourly wage rates. Thus a worker who puts in a full workweek as well as overtime is assured of a wage above the subsistence level. But the great army of workers not employed for a full workday or workweek in fact do not receive even the minimum wage. Under socialism, minimum standard rates of pay are set by the state. The criterion for determining the minimum wage for workers and the minimum income for the population as a whole is an estimated budget for minimum material security. Such a budget expresses both in money and in kind the minimum needs of workers and their families, given the present level of development of production and the standard of living previously attained. This budget, when considered along with the social funds allocated to consumption, provides for the normal development of the individual. As the productive forces of socialist society develop, as the volume of social production increases and alters its composition, and as the needs of the workers continue to grow, the amount of vital resources needed to ensure the normal reproduction of labor power increases and the minimum wage rises. In the USSR, minimum wage and salary rates are periodically raised through legislation. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR determines by law the levels and intervals of increases in the minimum wage, mandatory upon all administrative heads of enterprises, ministries, and government offices. In accordance with a decree of the Soviet government in September 1967, the minimum monthly wage for production and office workers employed in the national economy was set at 60 rubles, effective in January 1968. Directives of the Twenty-fourth CPSU Congress have now raised the minimum monthly wage to 70 rubles. This was made uniform for all categories of workers performing simple labor, regardless of the economic sector or geographic location of the enterprise employing production and office workers. The minimum standard wage rates and salary schedules for particular branches of industry or working conditions are differentiated upward from this minimum. Most workers performing simple, that is, unskilled labor actually receive wages above the established minimum. Workers employed at hourly rates or on salaries receive bonuses in addition to their regular pay; piece workers, beyond their extra earnings for overfulfillment of norms, receive additional compensation because of working conditions or the location of their enterprise. In the USSR, wages paid up to minimum levels are tax exempt. The minimum wage is set by legislation in other socialist countries as well. In Bulgaria it amounts to 80 leva per month (introduced in 1973); in Hungary, 1,000 forints (1971); in the German Democratic Republic, 350 marks (1971); in Poland, 1,000 ziotys (1970), and in Romania, 1,000 lei (1972). REFERENCESMaterialy XXIVs’ezda KPSS. Moscow, 1971.Sarkisian, G. S., and N. P. Kuznetsova. Potrebnosti i dokhod sem’i. Moscow, 1967. Volodin, V. S. Zarabotnaia plata v usloviiakh sovremennogo kapitalizma. Moscow, 1967. Kunel’skii, L. E. Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskie problemy zarabotnoi platy. Moscow, 1972. D. N. KARPUKHIN Minimum WageMinimum WageThe minimum hourly rate of compensation for labor, as established by federal statute and required of employers engaged in businesses that affect interstate commerce. Most states also have similar statutes governing minimum wages. Along with a requirement for overtime pay and restrictions on child labor, the minimum-wage law is one of the most significant, substantive obligations created more than 50 years ago by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) (29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201 et seq.). The FLSA culminated a long struggle for state and federal protective legislation for workers that had begun during the nineteenth century. The original campaign for minimum-wage legislation in the United States began at the state level and resulted from growing public concern about the prevalence of sweatshops—workhouses where recent immigrants, women, and young children were paid substandard wages. Proponents of minimum-wage legislation appealed to society's sense of obligation to act through its elected officials to ensure an adequate standard of living for all working citizens. In 1912, Massachusetts, an industrial state, was the first state to enact minimum-wage legislation. The momentum continued, and by 1920 13 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia had enacted minimum-wage programs. The Great Depression moved even more states to enact protective minimum-wage legislation, and by 1938 25 states had some form of minimum-wage law. In creating minimum wage legislation, the states generally used three minimum wage models. The Massachusetts model established a wage commission that recommended voluntary minimum-wage rates based on what commission members determined was the best combination of a "living wage" for employees and the "financial condition" of the employer's business. The next model established a similar wage commission but disregarded the financial conditions of the employer, made the minimum wage compulsory, and established sanctions for non-compliance. The third law, the Utah model, established a flat rate of minimum compensation for all covered workers. Despite the success of state legislatures in creating minimum-wage laws, state supreme courts and, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional any legislation that interfered with an employer's freedom to contract with employees over wages. Under the leadership of President franklin d. roosevelt, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) (June 16, 1933, ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195). NIRA granted the president authority to establish minimum-wage and maximum-hour standards for all private-industry workers. Its legal basis was the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, rejected the NIRA's legal basis as unconstitutional in ALA Schechter Poultry v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, 55 S. Ct. 837, 79 L. Ed. 1570 (1935). In fact, from 1923 in Adkins v. Children's Hospital, 261 U.S. 525, 43 S. Ct. 394, 67 L. Ed. 785, to 1937 in Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo, 298 U.S. 587, 56 S. Ct. 918, 80 L. Ed. 1347, the Court consistently ruled against the constitutionality of all minimum-wage legislation. During his second administration, President Roosevelt worked with members of Congress to create a modified version of the labor provisions of the NIRA, and in 1937 the FLSA was introduced. Although national business lobbies and agricultural interests vigorously fought the proposed legislation—even organized labor did not support it—Congress passed the FLSA, and it was signed into law on June 25, 1938. Referring to the FLSA the night before signing the bill into law, President Roosevelt declared, "Except perhaps for the social security act, it is the most far-reaching, the most far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted." In a landmark decision in 1941 (United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 61 S. Ct. 451, 85 L. Ed. 609), the U.S. Supreme Court found the FLSA constitutional:
The minimum-wage law has evolved significantly since the Court declared it constitutionally sound in United States v. Darby. The federal minimum wage remains the same until Congress passes a bill to raise it and the president signs the bill into law. The minimum wage started at 25¢ per hour, and Congress has increased it 18 times. Since the law was enacted, increases to the minimum wage have been signed into law by Presidents Harry S. Truman, dwight d. eisenhower, john f. kennedy, lyndon b. johnson, richard m. nixon, jimmy carter, george h. w. bush, and bill clinton. The increases in the minimum wage have been sporadic. For example, the wage rose five times in the inflationary 1970s but was unchanged for the last nine years of the 1980s. In 1989, the FLSA was amended to raise the minimum wage in two steps: from $3.35 to $3.80 per hour on April 1, 1990, and from $3.80 to $4.25 per hour on April 1, 1991. Every time Congress considers legislation to increase the minimum wage, it must ponder what constitutes a living wage—a wage that is sufficient to provide a worker with food, clothing, and shelter. Along those lines, the Congressional Research Service estimated that the minimum wage would have to rise to $6.75 per hour in 1996 to equal the purchasing power that it represented in 1978. Congress most recently amended the minimum-wage law with the Minimum Wage Increase Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-188, sec. 2104(a), 110 Stat. 1228 [amends sec. 206]). Congress increased the minimum wage to $4.75 per hour effective October 1, 1996 and increased it to $5.15 per hour effective September 1, 1997. The minimum wage is the most direct and definitive measure to guarantee workers a living wage, but the FLSA (and thus its minimum-wage provisions) does not protect all employees. In 1988, of the approximately 110 million wage and salary earners in the United States, the FLSA did not cover about eight million workers because of coverage limits, nor another 28 million workers because of exemptions. The minimum-wage law can be enforced by employees themselves, by the secretary of labor, or by the attorney general. Under section 216(b) of the FLSA, employees can file suit in federal or state court to enforce their rights to minimum wages and overtime compensation. Employees also can seek redress if employers retaliate against them for trying to enforce their rights under the FLSA. The secretary of labor can enforce the act on behalf of employees under sections 216(c) and 217 by either filing a wage suit on behalf of the employees or by seeking an Injunction. If a suit by either the employees or the secretary of labor is successful, the FLSA authorizes recovery of any unpaid minimum wages and/or overtime compensation; with some exceptions, the injured party may be able to recover an equal amount in Liquidated Damages, as well. In addition, employees who win FLSA suits may be awarded attorneys' fees. For repeated or willful violations of the minimum-wage provisions, the secretary is authorized to assess civil penalties, subject to administrative review, of up to $1,000 per violation (29 U.S.C.A. § 217(e)). Finally, the attorney general has the authority to file criminal actions for FLSA violations, although this authority has rarely been used. Although the FLSA is the most significant federal wage statute, a number of other laws impose minimum-wage obligations on entities that perform work for the federal government. For example, the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C.A. §§ 276a–276a–5) applies to contracts in excess of $2,000 to work on federal buildings or other
public works; the Walsh-Healey Act (41 U.S.C.A. §§ 35–45) applies to employers that provide materials, supplies, and equipment to the United States under contracts exceeding $10,000; and the Ser vice Contract Act (41 U.S.C.A. §§ 351–358) applies to contracts in excess of $2,500 to provide services to the federal government. These statutes all require contracting entities to pay workers the prevailing wage in the locality. As of 2003, the federal minimum wage has remained at $5.15 per hour for non-exempt employees. However, in 11 states, particularly those in northwestern and northeastern parts of the United States, the state minimum wage is higher than that of the federal government. Under the FLSA, if a state's minimum wage is higher, then that rate applies to employees working in that state. The following 11 states provide a higher minimum wage than the federal standard (with the applicable hourly rate in parentheses), according to information from the U.S. Labor Department: California ($6.75); Oregon ($6.90); Washington ($7.01); Maine ($6.25); Vermont ($6.25); Massachusetts ($6.75); Delaware ($6.15); Connecticut ($7.10); Rhode Island ($6.15); Alaska ($7.15); and Hawaii ($6.25). The law in a few states still provides a minimum wage that is lower than the federal rate, although the latter continues to apply. Rates in American Samoa are established by a special industry committee, which determines rates for particular industries, rather than all covered employees. Like the states, an employer in American Samoa may choose to set rates at a higher level than the standard set by the committee. Further readingsLevitan, Sar A., and Richard A. Belous. 1979. More Than Subsistence: Minimum Wages for the Working Poor. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. Linder, Marc. 1990. "The Minimum Wage as Industrial Policy: A Forgotten Role." Journal of Legislation 16. Norlund, Willis J. 1988. "A Brief History of the Fair Labor Standards Act." Labor Law Journal 39. Quigley, William P. 1996. "'A Fair Day's Pay for a Fair Day's Work': Time to Raise and Index the Minimum Wage." St. Mary's Law Journal. 27. Waltman, Jerold L. 2000. The Politics of the Minimum Wage. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Wright, Russell O. 2003. Chronology of Labor in the United States. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc. Cross-referencesChild Labor Laws; Employment Law; Labor Law; National Recovery Administration; New Deal. minimum wage
Words related to minimum wage
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