minimum wage

Examples of minimum wage in the following topics:

• Employment Policy

  • Federal law establishes minimum wages and overtime rights for most workers in the private and public sectors; state and local laws may provide more expansive rights.
  • The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime rights for most private sector workers, with a number of exemptions and exceptions.
  • A number of states have enacted higher minimum wages and extended their laws to cover workers who are excluded under the FLSA or to provide rights that federal law ignores.
  • Local governments have also adopted a number of "living wage" laws that require those employers that contract with them to pay higher minimum wages and benefits to their employees.
  • This graph of the minimum wage in the United States shows the fluctuation in government guarantees for minimum standards of labor.

• The New Deal

  • Housing Authority and Farm Security Administration, both begun in 1937, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers.

• The Great Depression and the New Deal

  • The final major items of New Deal legislation were the creation of the United States Housing Authority and Farm Security Administration, both in 1937, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers.

• Civil Rights of Immigrants

  • Paying migrant farm workers less than minimum wage is a civil rights violation carried out against a primarily immigrant population.

• Civil Rights of Latinos

  • For example, many Latino immigrants are employed in unregulated workplaces, where employers do not pay minimum wage and do not abide by health and safety regulations.

• Federal Income Tax Rates

  • The withholding tax on wages was introduced in 1943 and was instrumental in increasing the number of taxpayers to $60 million and tax collections to $43 billion by 1945.
  • Social Security tax of 6.2% is imposed on wages paid to employees.
  • The maximum amount of wages subject to the tax for 2009, 2010, and 2011 was/is $106,800.
  • A companion Medicare Tax of 1.45% of wages is imposed on employers and employees, with no limitation.
  • Payroll taxes generally fall into two categories: deductions from an employee's wages and taxes paid by the employer based on the employee's wages.

• The Working Poor

  • While poverty is often associated with joblessness, the wages of the working poor are usually insufficient to provide basic necessities, causing them to face numerous obstacles that make it difficult for many of them to find and keep a job, save up money, and maintain a sense of self-worth.
  • Many scholars and policymakers suggest welfare state generosity, increased wages and benefits, more vocational education and training, increased child support, and increased rates of marriage as probable remedies to these obstacles.

• Eligibility

  • Virtually all electoral systems, whether partisan or non-partisan, have some minimum eligibility requirements to run for office.
  • The Senate's minimum age requirement is 30 and nine years an American citizen.

• The President

  • The president is very influential in US foreign policy, and directs the nation's war-waging, treaties, and diplomatic relations.
  • They are the commanders in chief of the armed forces; they decide how and when to wage war.

• The Federal Tax System

  • Social Security tax applies only to the first $106,800 of wages in 2009 through 2011.
  • Employers also must withhold income taxes on wages.