Minimum Wage Facts at a Glance
Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay to employees allowed under federal law. The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Many states also have minimum wage laws
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History of the Minimum Wage Law
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The first minimum wage law took effect on Oct. 23, 1938 during the Great Depression. Minimum wage was set at 25 cents. The current minimum wage took effect July 24, 2009.
State Minimum Wage Laws
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Forty-five states have minimum wage laws. Of the states with minimum wage laws,13 have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum wage law. In those 13 states, the employee is entitled to the higher wage in state law. In the few states with minimum wages set lower than the federal minimum wage, employees must be paid the federal minimum wage.
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Youth
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People under the age of 20 may be paid $4.25 per hour during their first 90 days of employment. Note that this rule is different from the rule applying to students.
Minimum Wage and Students
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Full-time students working for colleges, retail stores, the service industry and agricultural work may be paid less than the full minimum wage. Federal law requires payment of at least 85 percent of the minimum wage and limits working time for those students to eight hours a day and 20 hours a week.
Minimum Wage and Tipped Employees
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The minimum wage law does not apply to all employees; for instance, employees who receive tips may be paid $2.13 an hour. However, this only applies if the $2.13 and tips combined equal or exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Enforcement
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The U.S. Department of Labor enforces the minimum wage law. Employees can file a complaint for violations with the local office of the Wage and Hour Division of the department.
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References
- Photo Credit old one dollar image by cegli from Fotolia.com
