Quote from: Dolores

Quote from: Nadir

Thanks for clearing that up, Dolores. I had been told by a friend who lived in the US about that $2.13 figure, and wondered if it was true. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard it, especially since

Quote

"The national minimum wage is currently $16.37 per hour or $622.20 per 38 hour week. Casual employees covered by the national minimum wage also get at least a 24 per cent casual loading."

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets/conditions-of-employment/pages/minimum-wages-fact-sheet.aspx#national-minimum-wage-order

As I explained above, however, while the $2.13 per hour figure seems very low at first blush, no one in the United States is permitted to earn less than $7.25 per hour once tips are taken into account.  If an employee is earning less than that, there has been a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it carries hefty penalties, far beyond merely getting your unpaid wages.

Many places pay as a contractor and it's impossible to fight it unless you have the resources too. People with the resources to fight it don't stay in those jobs for long. I've made far less than that because it was contract pay.

If what you say is true, then it is still a violation of the FLSA.  It doesn't matter whether the employer calls you an independent contract or an employee; under federal law the facts of the situation determine that, not what the employer says.  For example, there is almost no situation where a waitress is an independent contractor; they are almost always employees under the law.  (If this is going on, then there is also tax fraud being committed because the employer is not paying his share of FICA taxes.)

Additionally, you do not need substantial resources to fight an unjust employer on this.  The FLSA provides that a worker who was deprived of just wages must have his attorneys' fees paid for by the employer.  Many attorneys will take cases like this on a contingency basis, because they know if they prove the case, the other side will have to pay.

There is no reason to roll over and simply accept the situation.  Depriving a worker of his wages is one of the sins that cries to Heaven for vengeance, and should be fought at every turn, just like murder, sodomy, and oppression of the poor.