The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.
Currently, the minimum wage in California is $9/hour. Governor Jerry Brown signed a law in 2013 raising the minimum wage to $10/hour in 2016. Some advocates are arguing that these increases are not enough. At the current rate of $9/hour, a full-time employee will bring home approximately $18,000/year. And that is before taxes!
At Los Angeles Courier Service, we make sure our workers receive the highest levels of compensation and we are proud to be a leader for competitive wages for our team.
Many of the largest cities in California have recently raised the base for employees’ wages. San Francisco has recently approved a $15 minimum hourly wage, Oakland has a $12.25 minimum hourly wage and last month the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to pay employees $15 an hour by 2020. The bill was recently signed into law by Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti.
“The increase in the minimum wage does have a major impact on business and commerce,” explains Tarek Barrawi, founder and President of FreightRun.com, which provides freight quotes from over 100 top shipping companies. In the freight shipping, transportation and courier industry, an increase in the minimum wage can result in higher prices for shipping goods and people. But to many proponents, the benefits outweigh the costs.
A June 2014 survey found that more than 3 out of 5 small business owners support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10. Small business owners believe that a higher minimum wage would benefit business in important ways: 58% say raising the minimum wage would increase consumer purchasing power. 56% say raising the minimum wage would help the economy. In addition, 53% agree that with a higher minimum wage, businesses would benefit from lower employee turnover, increased productivity and customer satisfaction.