Remember, minimum wage in Texas is the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. Texas employers have the option to only pay the minimum, then have the gall to steal what little their workers make. Slavery with extra steps.
I’m always shocked that the federal minimum is so low. My first job in high school (bussing tables in a chain restaurant) I made $10 an hour. Plus a share of the servers tips. In 1992.
I should clarify, it’s the federal minimum wage. This means that employers everywhere, (with limited exceptions,) must pay $7.25 an hour. The federal minimum wage doesn’t stop states or localities from adopting a higher minimum wage.
The Georgia state minimum wage is $5.15. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15. The highest minimum wage is in the district of columbia, which is Washington DC, the capital of the country.
The federal minimum is trash, but 68% of states have done better than the federal minimum.
And then there’s the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is a paltry $2.13/hr. If the tips don’t bring that up to at least match the normal minimum (the $7.25/hr figure) then employers are supposed to pay them more to make up the difference, but they basically never do. Tip theft is also super common, including with some of the online ordering apps.
I’m a millennial. In my 40’s. My first job was working at a video rental store that no longer exists. When I was working there, they raised the minimum wage to 7.25 an hour. And in my entire adult working life since, that rate has not increased, now going on 20 years.
The fact that over 30% of the states in this country STILL only pay that same minimum wage is abhorrent. No one in those states has made a dime in 20 years, they have only had their purchasing power decrease as inflation outpaced their pay.
An entire generation of Americans worked the best 20 years of their entire adult lives just to lose money from doing it if it happened in those states.
100% agree with you. I’m 45. while I worked my way through college, I made something like 14K a year, which was enough to cover a room rental, and food. When I started graduate school 4 years later, I managed 26K. I finished my PhD in 2008 and graduated into recession where the federal minimum for postdoctoral fellows was around 35K. NIH funded positions and labs had to pay the minimum, and generally didn’t pay more than that. (When I computed the hours I was working vs my fixed salary, I was making $10 an hour, It’s what pushed me to leave my field of study.) Now I make $52K. My income has doubled in the past 20 years, but costs for housing, food, and healthcare have far outpaced the wage increases I’ve seen. I’m no better off today than when I was a graduate student.
Remember, minimum wage in Texas is the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. Texas employers have the option to only pay the minimum, then have the gall to steal what little their workers make. Slavery with extra steps.
I’m always shocked that the federal minimum is so low. My first job in high school (bussing tables in a chain restaurant) I made $10 an hour. Plus a share of the servers tips. In 1992.
Chris Rock said that minimum wage is your boss telling you that he wants to pay you less, but it’s AGAINST THE LAW!
Is that what your minimum wage is??!? Jesus Christ America. It’s £13.50 in the UK which is around $17 and that’s still shit.
I should clarify, it’s the federal minimum wage. This means that employers everywhere, (with limited exceptions,) must pay $7.25 an hour. The federal minimum wage doesn’t stop states or localities from adopting a higher minimum wage.
Currently, 34 states, territories and districts have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
The Georgia state minimum wage is $5.15. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15. The highest minimum wage is in the district of columbia, which is Washington DC, the capital of the country.
The federal minimum is trash, but 68% of states have done better than the federal minimum.
And then there’s the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is a paltry $2.13/hr. If the tips don’t bring that up to at least match the normal minimum (the $7.25/hr figure) then employers are supposed to pay them more to make up the difference, but they basically never do. Tip theft is also super common, including with some of the online ordering apps.
I’m a millennial. In my 40’s. My first job was working at a video rental store that no longer exists. When I was working there, they raised the minimum wage to 7.25 an hour. And in my entire adult working life since, that rate has not increased, now going on 20 years.
The fact that over 30% of the states in this country STILL only pay that same minimum wage is abhorrent. No one in those states has made a dime in 20 years, they have only had their purchasing power decrease as inflation outpaced their pay.
An entire generation of Americans worked the best 20 years of their entire adult lives just to lose money from doing it if it happened in those states.
100% agree with you. I’m 45. while I worked my way through college, I made something like 14K a year, which was enough to cover a room rental, and food. When I started graduate school 4 years later, I managed 26K. I finished my PhD in 2008 and graduated into recession where the federal minimum for postdoctoral fellows was around 35K. NIH funded positions and labs had to pay the minimum, and generally didn’t pay more than that. (When I computed the hours I was working vs my fixed salary, I was making $10 an hour, It’s what pushed me to leave my field of study.) Now I make $52K. My income has doubled in the past 20 years, but costs for housing, food, and healthcare have far outpaced the wage increases I’ve seen. I’m no better off today than when I was a graduate student.