Fair Pay & Benefits

Minimum Wage

The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) first established a federal minimum wage, on the belief that an honest day's work deserves a decent wage. The most recent increase in the minimum wage was signed into law in 1996, raising the minimum wage to $5.15/hour. At this level, a full-time worker making minimum wage today earns only $10,700 a year - $2,900 below the poverty level for a family of three. It is important that the nation move toward guaranteeing a living wage for all workers. A significant increase in the minimum wage, which has not kept up with inflation, is necessary to help those in entry-level jobs move towards self-sufficiency.

Minimum Wage Resources - AFL-CIO
Minimum Wage Increase Takes Effect - 7/25/08
Minimum Wage Reform Will Give Millions of Black Workers a Pay Raise - 3/12/07
Civil Rights Groups: Amendments Mar Senate Minimum Wage Bill - 2/5/07
Civil Rights Coalition Applauds Expected Passage of Federal Minimum Wage Act - Press Release - 1/31/07
Raising the Minimum Wage: The Impact of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 and State Minimum Wage Increases on U.S. Workers, by Race and Ethnicity - Report - The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies - 1/24/07
LCCR Letter to the Senate in Support of the Fair Minimum Wage Act - 01/19/07
LCCR Letter in Support of the Fair Minimum Wage Act - 01/09/07
Civil Rights Groups Angry at Congressional Block of Minimum Wage Increase - 8/8/06
No Raise for Minimum Wage Workers - 08/10/05
Students Nationwide Unite to Support Campus Workers - 04/13/05
LCCR's Letter to Congress in Opposition to Wage Equity Act of 2001 - 11/16/01

Overtime Pay

In 2004, changes to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations took away the right of as many as six million workers to collect overtime pay.

House and Senate Vote to Protect Overtime Pay - 09/20/04
American Workers Call on Bush to Repeal Overtime Pay Cuts - 8/24/04
President Urged to Reconsider Cuts to Overtime Pay - 12/03/03
In Victory for Workers' Rights, Senate Votes to Protect Overtime - 09/10/03
Activists Protest Changes to Overtime Policy - 07/09/03

Leave

Advocates Push for Paid Sick Days - 03/04/08
The Family and Medical Leave Act: A Report on the Request for Information - Department of Labor
Expecting Better: A State-by-State Analysis of Parental Leave Programs (pdf) - Report - National Partnership for Women and Families - 05/01/05
Just the Facts: Work and Family - Equal Rights Advocates

Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment LifeLine - A one-stop online guide for local resources, as well as an opportunity to talk to others and share support and lessons learned.
Expanding Unemployment Insurance - 12/04/08
Failing the Unemployed: A State by State Examination of Unemployment Insurance Systems - Report - National Employment Law Project - 3/12/02

Day Laborers

In Pursuit of the American Dream: Day Labor in the Greater Washington D.C. Region (pdf) - Report - Center for the Study of Urban Poverty - 06/23/05

Workplace Safety

Under the Clinton Administration, the Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented new ergonomic standards intended to reduce workplace injuries. The rule also intended to address musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back injuries in the workplace. The Bush Administration weakened the standards considerably by making compliance by employers wholly voluntary.