Year: 2013

With the coming new year, 13 states will be increasing their minimum wage. Although Congress failed to raise the federal minimum wage, these states have taken action to improve the pay of many minimum wage workers. And another 11 states and the District of Columbia are considering taking action in 2014. The push for an increase in minimum wage follows growing concern about the disproportionate spread of low-wage workers, and the need to increase the amount of disposable income lower income consumers have in order improve local economies. While the…

In a victory for home health care workers, the White House has just announced that these workers will finally be entitled to minimum wage and overtime protections. For 38-years, these workers have been denied the same protections granted to almost all workers in America. The long awaited amendment will take effect January 1, 2015 and will impact some 2 million home care workers, one of the fastest-growing occupations in the country. The White House has commented that “such a rule would eliminate a long time injustice for a large pool…

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Enacted in 1938, the FLSA provides certain minimum wage and overtime standards that apply to nearly all U.S. employers. The act covers areas such as child labor labor laws, minimum wage and overtime. Despite significant improvements in working conditions much work still needs to be done. In fact as noted in a previous overtime violations post, the number of overtime compensation violations has reached near epidemic proportions. The FLSA provides that all non-exempt workers must be received…

President Obama’s State of the Union Address included a call for an increase in the Federal minimum wage – placing a renewed emphasis on the critical issue of making ends meet for many working Americans. Obama has asked Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25/ hour, a move that could potentially affect millions of working Americans. Minimum wage earners – such as cooks, janitors, and aides to the elderly – often struggle to make ends meet. Such an increase could help reduce the widening gap…