More than 1.5 million workers living in U.S. make less than minimum wage

[xchrom]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/26/more-than-1-5-million-workers-living-in-u-s-make-less-than-minimum-wage/




This week marked the four-year anniversary of the last time Congress increased the minimum wage — from $5.15 in 2007 to $7.25 in 2009. Groups demonstrated across the country, demanding increases at both the state and federal level. President Obama pledged that he would continue to press for an increase in his economic policy speech at Knox College.

But there’s another problem: Millions of working Americans make less than minimum wage. In fact, more Americans are exempt from it than actually earn it.

The Pew Research Center examined Bureau of Labor Statistics data and found that about one and a half million Americans earned the minimum wage in 2012, but nearly two million people earned an hourly wage that was even less than $7.25 an hour. These workers, for one reason or another, are exempted from the part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) that requires employers to pay at least the minimum wage, and include tipped workers and many domestic workers, as well as workers on small farms, some seasonal workers and some disabled workers.

The largest of these exempted groups is tipped employees, many of whom work in food service. Today, tipped employees earn just $2.13 an hour — the rationale being that tips cover the rest. In fact, some of these workers do earn a reasonable living through their tips, but, as Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and director of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, told us, many don’t.

[Travis_0004]

1. They need to do more research

Tipped employees are guaranteed minimum wage. If the tips (over the course of a pay period) are not enough so they did not earn minimum wage, then their employer is required to pay them the difference so their pay is bumped up to minimum wage.

I"ll agree that some companies may not do this, but they are breaking the law, and should be fined.

[RedRocco]

3. the way that I have seen that work, usually

is either the server has to turn in all tips and be paid just minimum wage, or turn in no tips and be taxed as if they made min wage.

[Starry Messenger]

2. k&r