The minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate that an employer can pay an employee according to law. Many states have minimum wages in place. As of December 2023, Washington had the highest state minimum wage rate at $15.74 per hour. Washington, D.C. has the highest rate overall at $17.00 an hour.1

There's also a federal law that exists, setting the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour.2 Employers must pay minimum wage employees whichever rate is higher, so if the federal rate is higher than the state rate, an employee gets the federal minimum wage. The same is true if the state rate is higher.1

Minimum wage laws have been in effect in the United States since 1938 when the first federal rate was set at $0.25 per hour.3Amendments were made to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) since then, increasing the base rate of pay for many hourly workers according to inflation. But the federal minimum wage hasn't increased since 2009, despite many attempts to do so. The discussion around the increase in the federal minimum wage brings both pros and cons.

Key Takeaways

• Despite efforts to raise the minimum wage, no bill has successfully passed both chambers of Congress.
• Proponents of raising minimum wages argue that changes are needed to help incomes keep pace with increasing costs of living, and a higher minimum wage will lift millions out of poverty.
• Opponents of raising the minimum wage believe that higher wages could lead to inflation, make companies less competitive, and result in job...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmludmVzdG9wZWRpYS5j...