The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes an hourly minimum wage for the U.S. workforce. When the Act was passed in 1938, the minimum wage was twenty-five cents per hour. Currently, the minimum wage is $6.55 per hour. In the summer of 2009, it increases to $7.25 per hour. If you′re under age twenty, you may be paid $4.25 per hour for the first three months, as a training wage for new employees.
Here′s how the minimum wage has changed over the years:
- 1950 $0.75
- 1970 $1.45
- 1980 $3.10
- 1990 $3.80
- 1996 $4.25
- 1997 $5.15
See www.dol.gov for current information and state specifics.
States may also set minimum wages that employers must pay, but not less than the federal minimum. Two dozen states have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum. What you′re paid depends on the job and your employer, whether you work in a private business or a government office. Some jobs—including professional positions like doctors, architects, and professors—are exempt from the minimum wage.
If you′re a restaurant server, you may have been surprised at your first paycheck. If you did the math in your head before getting paid, your figure was probably higher than the check. This is because your tips may be considered as wages. If you make more than $30 in tips each month, your boss may pay you less than the minimum wage.
Can a worker be paid for overtime hours? Yes. For every hour an employee works over forty hours each week, the law requires that you be paid “time-and-a-half,” which is one and a half times the employee′s regular hourly rate. This may not apply to you or your friends, because most teens work less than forty hours each week. The law, in fact, limits you to less than forty hours per week while you′re in school.
