A minimum wage of $4.25 per hour applies to young workers under the age of 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer, as long as their work does not crowd out other workers. After 90 consecutive days of employment or the employee`s age of 20, whichever comes first, the employee must receive a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as of July 24, 2009. Various minimum wage exemptions apply in certain circumstances to workers with disabilities, full-time students, youth under the age of 20 during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment, tipped workers and tipped learners. The first U.S. minimum wage was introduced under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Since then, Congress has raised the minimum wage 22 times and changed who is insured under it. The theory alone does not tell us the magnitude of these effects and is ambiguous as to the direction. In fact, empirical studies suggest that the impact of minimum wage increases on employment in the past has been slightly negative, negligible or sometimes even positive. Some states have minimum wage laws that apply specifically to tipped employees. If an employee is subject to both federal and state wage laws, the employee is entitled to the provisions of each law that provide the highest benefits.

Although the proportion of workers receiving poverty wages has declined over the past three decades, there are still large racial and ethnic differences in the proportions of workers paid at decent wage levels. As the first figure below shows, workers of color are much more likely to receive poverty wages than white workers. In 2017, 8.6 percent of white workers received poverty wages — that is, hourly wages they would leave under the federal anti-poverty policy for their family size if they are the sole breadwinner of the family, even if they work full-time, year-round. In contrast, 19.2 percent — nearly one in five — Hispanic workers received poverty wages, and 14.3 percent — about one in seven — black workers received poverty wages. Workers from Asia or the Pacific Islands also had higher poverty wage rates than white workers, at 10.9 percent. Proposals like these would eliminate the gradual erosion of the value of the minimum wage and the need for regular and potentially controversial legislative debates to restore it. These debates have characterized the minimum wage since its inception. The Trump administration has no official position on the minimum wage, but Larry Kudlow, the head of President Trump`s National Economic Council, has said the federal minimum wage is a “terrible idea” and that he personally will not work with congressional Democrats to repeal it. Remarkably, racial differences had become remarkably constant — if not worse — over time. The proportion of black workers earning poverty wages was consistently 1.5 times higher than that of white workers throughout the series. The ratio of the Hispanic poverty wage rate to the white poverty wage rate has actually increased since the 1980s.

In 1986, the proportion of Hispanic workers earning poverty wages was 1.8 times that of white workers; In 2017, it was 2.2 times the proportion of white workers. Because a person`s applicable poverty policy is determined by the size of their family, groups with larger average families have higher average poverty policies – meaning that the proportion of poverty wages could be higher simply because of the average size of larger families. It is true that Hispanic workers have, on average, larger families than workers of other races or ethnicities; However, the differences are not large enough to result in the significantly higher poverty wage rates of Hispanic workers. The second figure shows that Hispanic workers have an average family size of 3.2 people, while the average family size of white workers is 2.8 people. (Single adult workers without children have families of one size.) In other words, the average family size of Hispanic workers is 14.5 percent larger than that of the average white worker, but they are 123 percent more likely than white workers to receive poverty wages. In addition, the growth in the ratio of the Hispanic poverty wage rate to the white poverty wage rate also cannot be attributed to changes in average family size, since the average size of the Hispanic working-class family has declined more than the average white working class size since 1986. The U.S. Department of Labor`s Wages and Hours Division (WHD) issues certificates under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that authorize the employment of workers with disabilities at minimum wage rates below the minimum wage. These below-minimum wage rates are reasonable wage rates based on the worker`s productivity and prevailing wage rates paid to experienced workers in the region. To ensure that workers receive their fair compensation, Section 14(c) certificate holders must verify the productivity of each worker paid on an hourly basis at least every six months (29 C.F.R.

525.9(b)(1)). In addition, the wages of all workers must be adjusted at least annually to reflect changes in prevailing wage rates (29 C.F.R. 525.12(f)). Businesses are not allowed to use tips and service charges paid to an employee as part of an employee`s minimum hourly wage. Under the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA), the minimum wage for covered non-exempt employees is $7.25 per hour as of July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. If an employee is subject to both federal and state minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage rate. President Obama proposed an increase in the minimum wage in 2013, and since then, 18 states and Washington, D.C. have taken action.

Congressional Democrats have also introduced bills to increase it. These proposals would raise wages in several stages and then adjust them to inflation. According to the simple theory of supply and demand, employers can react to a minimum wage increase: In 2017, 1.8 million workers earned wages at or below the federal minimum, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). About half of these workers were over the age of 25 and more than one-third worked full-time. Women were more likely to hold minimum wage jobs than men, and Blacks were more likely to have minimum wage jobs than people of other races and ethnicities. Almost 70% of those earning minimum wage or less worked in the service sector, and about 16% worked in sales or administrative support. All applicable wage rates must be reviewed to assess the impact of the minimum wage increase. You can contact the sources from which you originally obtained information on the current wage rate to determine the impact of the minimum wage increase on the rates of pay of your experienced workers for the specific job you are interviewing or, if necessary, to obtain current wage data from new sources. Once you have completed your salary survey, you must adjust the rates of pay for workers with disabilities no later than the next full pay period, after reviewing the applicable rates of pay. The adjustment should be made retroactively to 30 days after the date of the minimum wage rate increase. You must ensure that the updated rates of pay for experienced workers you receive reflect the new minimum wage. As with all current wage surveys, you must document these investigative contacts and have this information available for HD screening (see 29 C.F.R.

525.9(b)(2), 525.10, 525.12(f), and 525.16(c)). Some local jurisdictions have higher minimum wage rates and different labor rules than Washington State. The most generous minimum wage may apply in the following locations: This program is for high school students 16 years of age and older who are enrolled in vocational training (workshop courses). The employer who hires the student can obtain a certificate from the Ministry of Labor, which allows the student to receive at least 75% of the minimum wage as long as the student is enrolled in the vocational training program. Beyond the simple theory of supply and demand, raising the minimum wage can also incentivize companies to work more efficiently and push employees to work harder. Employers can look for ways to increase productivity, such as setting higher performance standards for their employees or investing more in employee training.