families and social action assignment

Running head: FAMILIES AND SOCIAL ACTION ASSIGNMENT 1

FAMILIES AND SOCIAL ACTION ASSIGNMENT 6

Families and social action

Karole Hudach

CHFD 446

July 12, 2016

Families and social action assignment

1. The topic addressed

The topic addressed is the minimum wage level that an employee should earn after working for certain duration for a company an institution for a given duration where in this case it is based on hourly basis  (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). In forum 5, the minimum wage is referred to as the federal minimum wage or the basic earning where an individual is entitled for upon hourly basis. On the other hand, in forum 6, it addresses the topic direct as the minimum wage where it began in the year 1938 with a value that was low as $ 0.25.

2. The value of minimum wage, how common it is, and the people it affects.

Despite the introduction of the minimum wage in the year 1938 during the times of great depression at a low value of $ 0.25, the instance has undergone a rapid evolution leading to the transformation of the economy of the United States plus also its growth altogether (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). Presently known today as the federal minimum wage, its value as at present also stands at 7.2 dollars for every hour as much as it has also remain to be a setback ever since from the year 2009. Currently the economy of America has indeed proven to be so challenging in reference to this very low kind of pay due to the fact that the cost of living among the American citizens has been rising every now and then thus leading to many citizens not lead to stable life altogether (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). In response to this hard life, many Americans today work overtime and also even tend to work for more than two jobs with the goal of affording living in America. However, any case, the federal government could have implemented the increment in the minimum wage, then the instances could have at least spared the citizens and at the same time enhanced the growth of jobs in the economy. That said with the objective of ensuring the increment in the minimum wage, the instance would also imply that business must lay off part of their workers in response to the higher payments where at the same time instance may end leading to majority of these businesses being bankrupt (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). Meanwhile, it is also a fact that the increment of the minimum wage would lead the drastic reduction of the levels of poverty in the country. However, the contrary to this fact that increment in the minimum wage level also goes together with high living costs altogether.

In the present society of America, the availability of the minimum wage has indeed been the cause of the contributing factor towards the development of the working poor lots within the society (SHRM, 2016). For instance, those companies that pay very low in terms of jobs have led to the major diminishing of employment opportunities especially during the Great Recession thus also creating huge impacts in the poverty levels among the communities (SHRM, 2016). In support towards this statement, a recent study over the same reveals that increasing the minimum wage to $10 for every hour will likely lead to the elevation of the poverty status of nearly 900, 000 people.

3. The current policies relating to federal minimum wage

The provisions defining the federal minimum wage are available in the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA. As at July 24th of 2009, the federal minim wage level on hourly basis stood at $7.25 (SHRM, 2016). Despite this, various states within the country also have with them their laws governing the minimum wage. For instance, some the laws within the states have provision for much greater opportunities for protection of employees and this case making it an obligation for these employees to comply with the same (SHRM, 2016). Meanwhile, the FLSA has no provision for collection of wage payment in terms of procedures from each and every usual employee or the promise on wages or commissions above those stipulated by the FLSA (SHRM, 2016). However, there some section of states in the country that has no defined laws whereby they lay such claims like the case of the fringe benefits so that their filing may take place whenever there is need or even instance of urgency.

4. The manner of changing the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA policy and the possible policy to enact

The FLSA has with it some exemptions from major basic standards where part of these exemptions is applicable in certain businesses while other fined their application in also certain types of work (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). On the same note, despite FLSA defining the basic minimum wage and also standards of overpay time as well as the regulation of employment of the minors, there indeed various of cases of employment practices that FLSA fails to regulate and as a result needs changes. The aspects here are the vacation, severance, sick pay or holiday, holiday offs or vacations, meals or rest periods, pay premiums for weekend or holiday work. Others are the pay increment or fringe benefits, notice of discharge, the reason for discharge itself and also the immediate benefits or payments for the employees upon terminating their contracts of employments (Eisenbrey & Kimball, 2016). Just also already said before, the FSLA has no defined collections procedures of wages from employees or commission above those set by the FSLA itself. Added to the same, FSLA has no limitation of the required hours during the day or in a week that an employee may needed to work plus the inclusion of the times for overtime in case the employee is above sixteen years of age (Waltman, 2008). The instance here only lie in contractual agreement with the employer and the employee altogether. For this reason, it calls for the overhaul of this weakness in FSLA policy as mentioned and possibly with the enactment of a new policy that can work better towards covering these loopholes in FSLA. In this regard, it would better to adopt a new rule that would put the worker above the threshold with regards to the exclusion from the instances of overtime protection so long as their jobs fall in the classes of executive, administrative or professional cases of EAP jobs (Waltman, 2008). The new rule as defined in the EPI technical paper; Estimation of the Number of Workers in a Direct Manner Benefiting from the Suggested Increment in the Overtime Salary Threshold will indeed offer the solution to faults noted in the FLSA previously.

5. The agency or groups that power towards the establishment of the EPI Technical Paper

The agency that has the authority in the establishment of the EPI Technical Paper is the Department of Labor where as already mentioned before; it seeks in this paper in ensuring the increment in the salary threshold below from where the workers have the opportunity of benefiting automatically for overtime pay. As it stands based on the assessment carried by the Department of the Labor, there is a likelihood of over 12.5 million workers benefiting from the protections of overtime (Waltman, 2008). The instance here will indeed solve the present scenario where the same employees are not legible for overtime pay since they fall in the category of those with job occupations that do not warrant overtime. Other sects will enjoy strengthened rights and as a result being safe from denied overtime

References

 Eisenbrey, R. & Kimball, W. (2016). The new overtime rule will directly benefit 12.5 million working people: Who they are and where they live. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved 20 July 2016, from http://www.epi.org/publication/who-benefits-from-new-overtime- threshold/

SHRM.,. (2016). Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938. SHRM. Retrieved 20 July 2016, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment- law/pages/fairlaborstandardsactof1938.aspx

Waltman, J. (2008). Minimum wage policy in Great Britain and the United States. New York, NY: Algora Pub.