- What Is minimum wage?
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal minimum wage for employees is $7.25 per hour. Minimum wages are set to protect workers from unfairly low compensation. The idea behind minimum wage is that employees who work should earn enough money to meet their basic needs. This federal wage was set on July 24, 2009, but many states have made their own laws regarding minimum wage. Workers are entitled to whichever is highest: the federal, state of local minimum wage. At the beginning of this year, 21 states updated their minimum wage laws, increasing their state’s minimum wage. And by the end of 2015, the other 29 states will raise their minimum wage above the federal $7.25 per hour.
- Are all workers entitled to minimum wage?
No, unfortunately not all workers are entitled to minimum wage. If a worker is an independent contractor, a commissioned sales employee, a farm worker, a seasonal worker, or a recreational worker, he or she is not consider a legal employee. Therefore, that worker is not entitled to minimum wage.
- What is the minimum wage in Los Angeles now?
The workers whom reside in Los Angeles know that there is no citywide minimum wage, but businesses follow California’s minimum wage law of $9 per/hour. However, there are two proposals to raise minimum wage in Los Angeles. Mayor, Eric Garcetti, has proposed to boost the minimum wage to $13.25 by 2018 and $15.25 by 2020.
- Are employees paid minimum wage during his or her breaks?
Any qualifying employee is allotted a paid ten-minute break for every four hours they spend on the job. If an employee works less than three and a half hours, he or she is not entitled to a break.
- Why is Los Angeles considering this idea now?
Similarly to San Francisco and Seattle, the cost of living in Los Angeles is much higher than other cities; meaning that in order for an employee to meet his or her basic needs, he or she needs to be making more money hourly. Lawmakers in cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have noted this increase in cost of living and have increase their city’s minimum wage.
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