The Importance of Minimum Wage

The current federal minimum wage was established at $5.85 per hour as of July 24, 2007, but the age of the worker, the type of employment and place of residence can alter the legal minimum hourly wage that an employer is required to pay (Longley 1). Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, Title 29, Chapter 8 of the United States Code, the minimum wage law applies to employees of enterprises doing at least $500,000 in business per year or to employees of smaller firms that are engaged interstate commerce or the production of goods for commerce. It further applies to workers at federal, state, or local government agencies, hospitals and schools, and it generally applies to domestic workers (United States Department of Labor 1).

Variations in the application of the FLSA are significant. Workers under the age of 20, for example, may be paid as little as $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. Certain full-time students, apprentices, and workers with disabilities may be paid less than the minimum wage under special certificates issued by the Department of Labor. Workers who receive tips as an integral part of their employment may be given a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour, but if tips do not augment this amount to at least $5.85 per hour, employers must make up the difference (Longley 2).

There is an ongoing debate in the United States about the minimum wage because as Jason Dean (1) points out, it is still much too lo

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