Cameron Miranda
The history of minimum wage laws in the United States dates back to the Progressive Era, when social activists and political reformers sought to address the issue of sweatshops that paid workers, particularly women and children, non-living wages. The first successful attempts at using minimum wage laws were made in the Australian state of Victoria in 1896. In the US, the first minimum wage legislation was passed in Massachusetts in 1912, establishing a state commission to recommend non-compulsory minimum wages for women and children. However, the first federal minimum wage law was enacted in 1938 through the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set rates that became obsolete during World War II. The purchasing power of the minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $1.60 ($14.00 in 2024).
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First federal minimum wage law | The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 |
| First federal minimum wage | 25 cents an hour |
| First state minimum wage law | Massachusetts, 1912 |
| First state minimum wage rate | $12 to $15 a week |
| Current federal minimum wage | $7.25 per hour |
| Current territorial minimum wage | $10.50 per hour |
| Current subminimum wage for employees under 20 | $4.25 an hour |
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What You'll Learn
- The first federal minimum wage law was passed in 1938
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour
- The minimum wage was designed to protect workers and create a minimum standard of living
- The first state minimum wage legislation was passed in Massachusetts in 1912
- Minimum wage laws emerged at the end of the 19th century to end sweatshops
The first federal minimum wage law was passed in 1938
The first federal minimum wage law in the United States was passed in 1938, with the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This legislation was passed by Congress under its authority in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states. The FLSA established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, which is equivalent to $5.58 in 2024 dollars. This rate was later amended multiple times, with the minimum wage peaking in 1968 at $1.60 per hour, or $14.00 in 2024 dollars.
The FLSA was a comprehensive federal scheme that aimed to protect workers in the post-depression economy. It sought to create a minimum standard of living for employees by ensuring they received a wage that was sufficient to support their health and well-being. In addition to setting a minimum wage, the FLSA also provided for overtime pay, record-keeping requirements, and child labor regulations. It applied to full-time and part-time workers in both the public and private sectors who were engaged in interstate commerce or the production of goods for interstate commerce.
The concept behind the FLSA emerged in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression, during which about 25% of workers were unemployed, people lost their life savings due to bank failures, and many struggled to secure housing and food. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded with the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in 1933, which established the National Recovery Administration (NRA). Through these policies, the Roosevelt administration sought to institute industry-wide "fair competition" codes to set wages and prices, create jobs, and permit collective bargaining.
The push for minimum wage legislation in the United States began earlier, at the end of the nineteenth century, driven by the desire to end sweatshops that had developed during industrialization. These sweatshops employed large numbers of women and young workers, paying them wages that were considered non-living wages, meaning they could not afford the necessities of life. In addition to substandard wages, sweatshops were also known for long work hours and unsanitary and unsafe working conditions. Progressive reformers, women's organizations, religious figures, academics, and politicians played important roles in getting state minimum wage laws passed across the United States during the Progressive Era, which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. The first successful attempts at using minimum wage laws to address the issue of non-living wages occurred in the Australian state of Victoria in 1896.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 established a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. The Act was passed by Congress under its authority in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states. The FLSA was a comprehensive federal scheme that provided for minimum wages, overtime pay, record-keeping requirements, and child labour regulations. Its purpose was to stabilise the post-depression economy and protect workers by creating a minimum standard of living to safeguard their health and well-being.
The concept behind the FLSA emerged in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression, when about 25% of workers were unemployed, people lost their life savings due to bank failures, and many struggled to secure housing and food. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded with the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and the establishment of the National Recovery Administration (NRA). Roosevelt's policies sought to institute industry-wide "fair competition" codes to set wages and prices, create jobs, and permit collective bargaining.
The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the NIRA, but it was later found to be unconstitutional. The FLSA's minimum wage of 25 cents an hour was designed to be a living wage, ensuring workers could afford the necessities of life. This was a significant improvement on the non-living wages paid in sweatshops, which employed large numbers of women and children and were associated with long work hours, as well as unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
The FLSA's minimum wage rates applied to full-time and part-time workers in both the public and private sectors. Specifically, the Act covered workers "engaged in" or "in the production of goods for" interstate and foreign commerce. The FLSA's requirements only applied to "employees", with courts determining case-by-case whether an individual was economically dependent on a business and therefore classified as an employee.
The FLSA has been amended several times since its enactment. For example, in 1940, an amendment was enacted to establish special industry committees to determine minimum wage levels applicable in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In 1961, amendments expanded the FLSA's scope in the retail trade sector and increased the minimum wage for previously covered workers. In 1966, amendments extended the full-time student certification program to covered agricultural employers and institutions of higher learning. In 1974, Congress included under the FLSA all non-supervisory employees of Federal, State, and local governments and many domestic workers.
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The minimum wage was designed to protect workers and create a minimum standard of living
The concept of minimum wage in the United States emerged at the end of the nineteenth century, driven by the desire to eliminate sweatshops that had proliferated during industrialization. These sweatshops employed a significant number of women and young workers, paying them wages that were insufficient to cover the basic necessities of life. The working conditions in these sweatshops were often characterised by long work hours, unsanitary environments, and unsafe practices.
The first successful attempts to address the issue of non-living wages through minimum wage laws occurred in the Australian state of Victoria in 1896. In the United States, the earliest minimum wage laws were state laws focused on improving the working conditions of women and children. These laws, however, were struck down by the Supreme Court between 1923 and 1937.
The first federal minimum wage law in the United States was enacted in 1938 through the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This legislation established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, which is equivalent to $5.58 in 2024 dollars. The purchasing power of the minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $1.60 per hour, valued at $14.00 in 2024. The FLSA was implemented to stabilise the post-Great Depression economy and protect workers by creating a minimum standard of living that safeguards their health and well-being.
The FLSA's minimum wage provisions specifically applied to full-time and part-time workers in both the public and private sectors who were engaged in interstate and foreign commerce. The law was designed to support the wage infrastructure by establishing a floor that workers could use as leverage to negotiate higher wages. It also provided for overtime pay, record-keeping requirements, and regulations on child labour.
The minimum wage rates have undergone various amendments over the years, with the most recent federal minimum wage increase occurring in 2009, bringing it to $7.25 per hour. Additionally, some states have implemented their own minimum wage laws, which may be higher than the federal minimum. As of August 2022, 30 states and the District of Columbia had minimum wages higher than the federal minimum.
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The first state minimum wage legislation was passed in Massachusetts in 1912
The first state minimum wage legislation in the United States was passed in Massachusetts on June 4, 1912. The legislation established a state commission to recommend non-compulsory minimum wages for women and children. The bill's passage was significantly influenced by the Lawrence textile strike, which had raged for ten weeks at the beginning of 1912, bringing national attention to the plight of low-wage textile workers. The strike pushed state legislatures, fearing the magnitude of the strike, to enact progressive labor legislation.
The push for minimum wage legislation in Massachusetts began in 1910, led by Florence Kelley of the National Consumer League and the Women's Trade Union League (WTLU) of Massachusetts under the leadership of Elizabeth Evans. Over the next two years, a coalition of social reform groups and labor advocates in Boston campaigned for minimum wage legislation in the state.
The earliest minimum wage laws in the United States were state laws focused on protecting women and children from non-living wages, which were often paid in sweatshops that employed large numbers of women and young workers. These laws were struck down by the Supreme Court between 1923 and 1937. The first federal minimum wage law was enacted in 1938, established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at 25 cents per hour. The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had previously instituted the first federal minimum wage, but it was later found to be unconstitutional.
The concept behind the FLSA emerged in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression, when about 25% of workers were unemployed, people lost their life savings due to bank failures, and many struggled to secure housing and food. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees, stabilize the post-depression economy, and protect workers in the labor force.
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Minimum wage laws emerged at the end of the 19th century to end sweatshops
Sweatshops were characterized by cramped and unsafe working conditions, long work hours, and extremely low wages that did not allow workers to afford basic necessities. Women made up a significant portion of the sweatshop workforce, and children as young as five or six years old were also commonly employed. The harsh realities of sweatshop labor did not go unnoticed, and social reformers, labor activists, and abolitionists began to speak out against these injustices. They advocated for safer working conditions, shorter work hours, and fair wages.
In the United States, the first successful attempts to use minimum wage laws to address the issue of non-living wages occurred in Massachusetts in 1912. This was aided by the Lawrence textile strike, which brought national attention to the plight of low-wage textile workers. The movement for a minimum wage was motivated by the desire to end sweatshop labor and control their proliferation in manufacturing industries. The first federal minimum wage in the United States was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but it was later deemed unconstitutional. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established the federal minimum wage at 25 cents an hour.
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Frequently asked questions
The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the minimum wage at 25 cents an hour.
The purpose of the minimum wage law was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect workers in the labor force. It was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees.
