The United States has always seemed to the rest of the world a model of the wealth and high wages received even by low-income citizens. However, the minimum wage is not the same throughout the country and depends on some features.
The regulation on the minimum federal wage was legislatively approved in the USA in 1938. Then this figure was 25 cents per hour. Only those who were engaged in trade, delivering goods from one state to another, were entitled to receive this minimum. By 1966, the concept of the minimum state wage was already applied to all working US citizens. "Minimal" was constantly growing, reaching $ 2.65 per hour by 1978 (in modern monetary terms, about $ 9.45). This can be called the average historical maximum, because Today, the federal minimum wage is $ 7.25 (data as of January 2013).
The situation in the USA today
Under US law, each state only takes note of the "minimum wage" set by the state. In reality, amendments are made that “shift” the minimum level in one direction or another. Moreover, there is a division of all employees receiving official salaries into two categories. The first includes those who receive tips and do not share them with the employer. In the second - those who either do not receive tips at all, or share them with the owner (tip credit is marked).
For the first group of American citizens, the minimum wage is $ 2.13 (subject to residency in New Jersey, Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, plus 9 more states). The maximum is fixed at $ 8.67 if the employee resides in Washington State. For tipping workers, conditions are somewhat better: the minimum registered on the Virgin Islands is $ 4.30. The maximum exceeds the federal level and reaches $ 9.92 (San Francisco, California).
