The recently passed NC state budget contains a provision that would not allow local governments and municipalities to establish minimum wage and other employment-related requirements for private employers.
The text, referred to as the “Wage and Hour Act” in N.C. General Statute § 95-25.1, resurfaces a discussion about the balance of power between the General Assembly and local governments. It explores whether local governments would exceed their legally defined authority if they established wage regulations for private employers unconnected to the state or local government.
The John Locke Foundation’s Senior Vice President of Research Brian Balfour told Carolina Journal in an email that the provision is an appropriate one, as governments should not be allowed to meddle with the employment relationship between private employer and employee.
“This provision is a step in the right direction,” Balfour said. “It is no business of the government—at any level—to interfere in the voluntary labor agreements between workers and employers. Minimum wage laws don’t create a single job. Instead, they prevent low-skilled workers from entering the workforce, and research shows that minorities are disproportionately harmed. Similar prohibitions on wage requirements should also be considered at the state level to help free up our labor market from harmful intervention.”
Under the new law, local governments could still set wage standards for local government employees.
Contextually, North...
New Delhi: Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a rally, stated that Mahatma Gandhi had returned his knighthood in protest agai...