Detailed Information on Wages in the United States Essay

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Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has several important roles in the American economy. The FLSA establishes standards for the basic minimum wage and for overtime pay in the United States. It was established by the U.S. Congress in 1938, and it also sets the standards for child labor, and for recordkeeping by employers, according to Susan Healthfield, writing in about.com. The FLSA " ... affects most private and public sector employment," which includes federal government employees, state and local employment as well (Healthfield, 2015). This paper delves into how the FLSA applies to compensation in a variety of ways and situations.

The Minimum Wage -- Issues and Differences

While the FLSA sets the national minimum wage at $7.25 per hour -- that rate went into effect on July 24, 2009 -- it does not " ... provide wage payment collection procedures" for the additional wages that an employee may have been promised by his or her employer (dol.gov). However, state laws differ widely on the minimum wages paid, and in some cases an employee that has been promised additional compensation based on holiday work or other special cases may file for collection of a promised additional compensation (dol.gov).

The $7.25 minimum wage set by the FLSA (a division of the U.S. Department of Labor) and is seen to be far too low by many states and cities; hence, states may raise the minimum wage to levels that the political leadership feel is fair. For example, California and Massachusetts have a $10.00 an hour minimum wage, and the District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction with a higher minimum wage - $10.50.

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Alaska's minimum wage was raised to $9.75 through a ballot initiative; Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut have set the minimum wage at $9.60 per hour.

However, about 16 states maintain the $7.25 minimum wage and Wyoming, which appears to deviate from the FLSA law, pays just $5.15 for a minimum wage (www.minimum-wage.org). Some cities have raised the minimum wage far higher than the FLSA's guidelines: San Francisco and Oakland California now have a minimum wage of $12.25 an hour (CBS.com). The FLSA sets a different and very low wage ($2.13) for employees whose principle earnings come from tips; an employer may pay this low rate " ... if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage ... and the employee receives more than $30 a month in tips" (dol.gov).

Coverage Under the FLSA

Employees may not be asked to work more than 40 hours per week " ... without receiving at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for the overtime hours" (Wage and Hour Division, dol.gov). "Waiting time," according to the FLSA, when the employee was "engaged to wait" it is considered work time. For example a firefighter may be playing chess or checkers while waiting for an alarm, and hence he or she is engaged to wait (and should be paid). But a person was "waiting to be engaged" -- that is, on call but not called in -- is not to be paid (Wage….....

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