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this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
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Wages have shot up like crazy over the past few years. But the FTC has not enforced antitrust regulations over the past 30 years which led to everything being owned by megacorps with no competition - so we're getting the screws turned on us right now. The FTC is finally engaging in some antitrust measures, but it is too little, too late. It's kind of hard to blame that on the current regime.
Shot up like crazy is a weird way to talk about how the federal minimum wage is still $7.25
And tipping is spreading instead of dying off.
If you are not making the federal minimum after tips, your employer is obligated to pay the difference. Nobody is (legally) receiving only $2.13/hour. $7.25 obviously isn't enough to live on though.
E: Downvoted for speaking the truth. If you aren't making at least $7.25 after tips, and your employer is not paying the difference, they are breaking labor laws. Please report them. And stop parroting that a $2.13 wage is somehow legal. If people are being taken advantage of, they deserve to know that they should be making more.
immigrants seeking a better wage than at home have entered the chat
Labour laws don't apply to labour that isn't on the books. And the US is absolutely taking advantage of that.
Abso-fucking-lutely! But if we are now talking about off-the-book labor, how relevant is that to the stagnant minimum wage?
Wage theft beats out all other forms of theft combined. To act like it can't happen because "that's illegal" seems pretty naive.
It's not naive to spread awareness. I'm sure a non-zero amount of the victims aren't aware their employers are breaking labor laws.
You're right that I should have phrased that comment a little differently, as it clearly happens. But if you say ~~people should just sit back and take it~~ employers should be able to get away with it, I couldn't disagree more.
Making the customers pay your employees' directly is just lying about your prices and should be illegal.
I can't argue with that. Also, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm advocating for a tipping culture. I just want everyone to know that they are entitled to at least (the very low bar of) minimum wage. Any separate tipped-employee minimum wage is a myth, repeatedly claimed by abusive employers.
Ah, fair enough.
Lawl try getting them to actually do that. If you make a stink you’ll just get fired for one thing or another. There are plenty of people willing to do that job, since it takes little skill to start.
You don't have to fight your employer directly. Go to the Department of Labor website and file a complaint online.
Then what happens?
Your state's department of labor will turbofuck employers who get reported like that. Wage theft has criminal penalties as well as civil.
The problem is too many workers either dont know or are scared to report their employers.
The government tells them to get their shit together or fines them. And if they fire you, you have clear evidence for a wrongful termination case. Or you can just sit back and take it like you seem to be implying.
~~Seriously, what is this "then what happens" nonsense? Are you lining up for some sort of gotcha? What happens if you don't take action? Your employer keeps taking advantage of yourself and others?~~
E: I'm sorry for the outburst. I hope you understand how one-liner questions can be seen as a troll response. I appreciate that you have more to say.
Ok so you've never done it. That's OK, I understand that you're describing how it's supposed to work, and it's easier to blame the victims of theft for not fighting back hard enough.
But that's not what happens next.
What happens next is usually nothing. Maybe the restaurant gets a warning, or maybe the restaurant shuts down and the owners invest in a different location. If you're very lucky, there will be enough evidence for several employees to go to court as a group, and the lawyer will make a bit of money while everyone who worked there will eventually get a check for half a month's rent. If you're unlucky, the employer figures out you reported them and retaliates.
The department of labor doesn't have the resources to go after every employer stealing wages, much less investigate every report of retaliation. Employees have extremely slim chances of ever seeing a fraction of what is owed, and restaurant owners almost never have to pay what they owe. 60% of restaurants fail within a year, and that number is 80% by year five. When they fold, they don't leave behind a fund to pay out pending litigation liabilities.
First off, if what you are describing is based on personal experiences, then I am truly sorry that it happened to you. Secondly, what you say about victim blaming doesn't sit well with me. I feel nothing but rage towards the companies that would steal wages from their employees. My girlfriend in a past life worked at small-town Frisch's that regularly took advantage of their employees. They weren't just stiffing them on compensation for inadequate tips, they also constantly told them they had to clock out at closing time and clean up after. I hope their management rots in hell. After all, they did this just to save a few bucks for their regional restaurant chain while screwing over their own team.
My point, which I admit, was better articulated in other strings of this post, is that saying $2.13/hour is the tipping minimum wage is absolutely unacceptable. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 for everyone. If you are a tipped employee who is not making $7.25/hour after tips, your employer is stealing from you. Everyone deserves to know this, and by repeating the incorrect claim that $2.13 is somehow legally acceptable, it normalizes behavior like the theft against someone whom I had a close relationship with.
I understand that sometimes the system doesn't work as intended. I wish this wasn't the case, but what you say about groups of employees winning anything against their abusive employers gives me hope. These employers don't deserve to get away with it. However, when you say that the majority of restaurants fail within a year and the vast majority is closed within 5 years, it sounds like an argument that this behavior is somehow necessary for their survival. I don't agree with that. I believe that any company who cannot adequately compensate their employees, should not be in business. Everyone is entitled to a fair wage (but seriously, a $7.25 minimum wage is not enough to live off).
Sorry, (raises hand) i downvoted you because i felt it had nothing to do with the matter at hand. No offense mate
No offense taken personally. I felt the same way about the $2.13 claim since, when comparing legal employers, is not possible. Of course, if we accept that some employers break the law, then the $7.25 wage isn't very relevant anymore either.
I hope you have a pleasant day!
$15,950 per year with full time employment.
Which is why 37% of people have multiple jobs, which is why unemployment is down, which is why the wealthy/out of touch pretend the economy is fine, which is why people in power ignore the suffering of the working class.
- President George W. Bush to a divorced mother of three. Omaha, Nebraska - February 4, 2004
My wage has certainly gone up. I also can’t seem to go grocery shopping without spending $400 now. Literally everything is more expensive, bills included.
So if I look at my wage as 100%, rent and groceries and bills all take up a larger percentage of that then just five years ago.
Unless there are enforced laws around consumer pricing, every company on the planet is gonna raise prices when wages go up.
You literally use the term regime to describe yourself.