you forgot to mention the sneak butt restaurant owners in florida who get away without paying minimum wage  . a rate of 4.05 minus the tips declaired on a 38 hr week equals 1.65  yup thats right a dollar sixty five .

I wish I knew which senator or congressman responsible for that huge stinking loophole .

most likely they'll blame it on senator kennedy that just passed away . this loop hole ought to be closed amend that wide open lack of concern over the young waitresses .

the owner of said restaurant not only owns the restaurant but has two well over million dollar residences plus writes off one as a office and has another home in hawaii geeez an still crys poor mouth .

stinking sneaky restaurant owners should have to comply with the minimum wage effect but uses the loophole to pocket more money in they're own pockets .

It is a travesty that agricultural workers do not obtain over-time pay until more than 60 hours per week have been worked.

Strike!!!!!

No work for an entire year until Ag workers get over-time after 40 hours work per week.

A constant food supply placed there by others allows the specialization of tasks within society.

Those that earn huge sums and amass enormous wealth have those below their lofty positions to thank for the time to perform specialized tasks that pay an excellent wage while those enabling those specialists are spat upon.

Another example of the ongoing class war.

I hope the "mere commoners" revolt some day.

http://obbop.wordpress.com/

Thank you for the welcome .

I believe I ran across your site due to FARK.COM

It really burns me up that the rich restaurant owners get away without paying minimum wages in Florida I am not sure of other states . But who ever created that loop hole for restaurant owners ought to be run out of town. They most likely voted themselves a fine raise in the process for taking advantage of thousands of restaurant waitresses and waiters A check for 1.65 yes a dollar sixty five cents is incredibly sad for a 36 hour week . And the waitress doesn't even get the right anymore to enter they're actual wage it is now tabulated from a percentage of they're sales rather than a entered actual amount . In some cases a customer will leave stiffing the waitress for whatever reason they could make up in most cases blaming the speed of the delivery in which the waitress has no control if the kitchen is backed up or not . but scraping on a tip is the customers way out of giving a respectable tip. It makes no difference to the restaurant owner they still deduct a percentage from the waitresses measly 3.25 or 4.05 an hour income . leaving her with a negative from the stiff of the tip . It is not far at all.  The recent wage increase was a huge atrocity to the poor waitress . Please create more attributes to this scandalous effect and outright taking advantage of the waitresses .

I sure would like to know whos responsible for the loophole giving such rights to allow the restaurant owners to take advantage of the staff the way they do .

You ought to have a shame shame column to point out these senators and congressmen to such atrocious  actions

As much spent in this country a scalper such as that should be pointed out with as much inconsideration as the rights of a fare wage they took away .

Sincerely    Dirt dog

Been there, lived through this.  It's why I worked my tushie off to get a college degree so I (hopefully) wouldn't "have" to work these sorts of jobs and in hopes of obtaining a degree I never got to help those who did HAVE to work them.  Abuse is rampant. In all my minimum wage and near minimum wage jobs, I had TWO bosses that were good to me, one was a good friend so that really doesn't count (but the other bosses were real pains in the you-know-what to pretty much everyone and that was even WITH a union) and the other I figure was just where I got lucky - and quite blessed.

I endured a job where an employer would call at the last minute to change shifts.  Another where my boss refused to take a work injury report for three days, then tried to force me to lie about what happened, then he DID lie to his insurance about what happened which resulted in me having to go on state disability rather than workman's comp and hire an attorney to get coverage for my treatment and delay necessary treatment until it was so delayed the injury became permanent.  I can thank him for being almost 10% disabled in my left knee all because I slipped and twisted my knee and he tried to get me to "just take some aspirin".  Part of why I went into IT work was because of what I endured as a secretarial temp while looking for a job in what I'd studied at college.   Workers are treated awfully in the lower ranks and if you complain, you get basically blacklisted.

Dirt Dog has a point about sub-minimum "minimum wage" for tip earners too.  The law ASSUMES those workers not only WILL make tips but WILL make GOOD tips AND perhaps more importantly get to keep all of those tips - which can and usually does fail at one or more points.  Plus some states have a rather generous definition of "tip earning employee".  Which ultimately means all this law ends up being is a payroll savings for employers while still more employees having to survive (or more accurately TRY to survive) below poverty.  I saw this in New Mexico all the time with employers hiring workers for part time at the lowest legal wage.

What was said about ag workers is also important.  Ag workers in far too many places endure some of the more horrific conditions for some of the worst pay.  Yet clearly someone is profiting based on food costs, so why can't we make the workplaces safe and sane and give them reasonable pay?

Fixing and then ENFORCING (something we haven't done well, if at all, for far too long) labor laws would help many on the edges of poverty.  This would especially help if part of what was fixed and enforced was workplace safety and stuff like the ADA laws and discrimination/harassment laws.

I am a simple Old Disgruntled Coot lacking the wisdom so many others possess.

But I do have experience from my decades of living.

The push push push to work work work.......

how much of that is from indoctrination, from brainwashing, from the relentless mantra of achieving "success" emplaced within us as individuals and into society as a whole by a small minority of humans, the elite class within every society, in every organization, a class of elites who skim off the labors of the much larger mass of humans below them, obtaining the wealth that allows the elite class to live luxurious lives while leaving the labor to the masses?

Keep the masses working. Keep them tired so they do not question how "things" are and why "things have to be that way.

What a racket. Dangle a carrot in front of the masses of commoners to keep them working for a life time, hoping for some far-off day when advanced age and some pittance of accumulated savings will allow those life-long laborers to relax for a minute span before death beckons.

Part of the elite's acculturation includes brainwashing as many commoners as possible that their real reward comes after death when the reward of shunning a life of ease or leisure will lead to an eternity of paradise or some other un-provable reward.

What a racket!!!!

The elite class of every country, every society, every organization, and every human-created institution has a hierarchical structure with a small percentage of elites at the top of the pyramid-shaped institutional structure. Those elites live so very well by funneling wealth upwards from the bottom to the top, living off the sweat and toil of those below.

As for the benefits that trickle downwards to the masses? Despite the propaganda to the contrary there is little to no benefit to the vast majority of those existing underneath the elite class level of existence.

Oh, yes, there is a small group beneath the elites who benefit; the bureaucrats within the bureaucracies that insulate the elites from the masses, the minions and lackeys of the elites who enforce the elite's wishes, demands and desires.

Minions and lackeys who are loyal to pay and pension given by their elite class masters who pilfer the pockets of the masses to pay off the bureaucrats who ensure the status quo so beneficial to the elites (and to the bureaucrats) is maintained.

If you ever become a true threat to the elites and/or bureaucrats or their status quo you are in severe danger.

Sadly, the ongoing indoctrination/brainwashing the begins at such an early age continues throughout life, convincing the majority of commoners that as things are is correct, proper and as it should be.

Such is life.

Maybe some day, if the common folks can ever be enlightened, the elite class domination may be torn asunder. With human psychology the way it is, with humans instinctively a social species, a sort of "pack animal," I fear the all-pervading hierarchical elites-at-the-top systems we all exist within are permanently emplaced.

Do you have doubts about the existence of an ongoing class war within the USA?

After years of research I could come to only that conclusion.

Around a year or so ago I found an interview with Warren Buffet, a multi-billionaire who said the following;

"There's class warfare, all right," Mr. (Warren) Buffett said, "but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

When pondering the multitude of problems within the USA consider how the possibility of a class war could be the actual source of that problem.

It is something to think about.

Odd you mention that Ob Bop.  I remember growing up where I did, which was a hot bed of racism, poverty and the UFW strikes and seeing stuff like what's mentioned in this blog back in my childhood (ack) in the 70's.  If you or anyone else has read The Jungle, which has been reduced by most to a talk about how food is produced, it's clear that much of what is in this blog (esp. if you go beyond this post) or what I observed growing up or what you mention was going on back then too - workers over worked, under paid and in bad conditions, shenanigans in housing, medical care non-existent and unaffordable, unsafe foods and medications, etc.  Nothing much has changed except a few things here and there applied for prettiness and bandaid measures. Blech.

Thanks for calling the report to our attention, Leigh. There's another new report that may interest you and your followers. It's by the National Council of La Raza and focuses on conditions in the Latino labor force. Some of the findings and recommendations are similar to those "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers."

I've pulled the two together in a posting on my blog, http://povertyandpolicy.wordpress.com. Bottom line is that there's lot of work to do on applicable legal standards. Updating the National Labor Standards Act is just a small part of it.

So far as the "tip wage" is concerned, I think there are a couple of things worth noting. First, under federal law, employers are supposed to make up any difference between the "tip wage," plus tips received and the regular federal minimum wage. This obviously is very difficult to enforce and undoubtedly widely violated.

Second, the "tip wage" has been held constant through a number of increases in the regular federal minimum wage. We should see proposals for a further increase in the federal minimum wage soon. This would be a chance to, at the very least, bring the ratio of "tip wage" and regular minimum wage back to what it used to be.

Third, many states have their own minimum wage laws, and not all of them include a "tip wage." So there's a possibility for attacking the problem at the state level. And not all restaurant owners would oppose eliminating the tip wage. Recall that fast food restaurant workers generally don't get tips, which means that fast food restaurants have to pay higher wages than fast casual competitors. There could be similar splits in other industries.

From what I have been told by some unfortunate waitresses here in Florida . The facts they state is this the wage increase went up from 3.25 to 4.15 but the act of declaring an actual tip was thrown out an a register evaluation of sales in the effect of 17 % is deducted from they're sales regardless of the actual tip . In effect a sale of a hundred dollars the waitress pays out such a  high tip tax in they're income upon receiving a usual 10 to 15 % tip the waitress makes up the difference falling behind severely when those that don't leave a tip at all due to an unforeseen instance this to me is absolutely outrageous. It may not be her fault as to the food coming out on time or something merely not prepared to the customers likingthe hard working waitress gets the shaft inevitably putting one into a severely deflating spiral of poverty . meanwhile the restaurant owner feels no effect whatsoever . Most waitresses start several hours early preparing condiments preparations of table accessories etc n upon the end of they're shift no only clean up they're section but in full regards to the restaurant itself clean even the bathrooms and kitchen too . Which to me is absolutely atrociousafter personally seeing a check for 1.65 for a 38 hour week . I asked well how many actual hours out of that was actual tip time involved "serving of food" between a 10 to 6  routine the serving times were from 11:30 to 4:30 so 5 out of 8 hours in so which actual 3 hours out of each and every day one has to either prep food additives topping and condiments plus kitchen details and table settings etc. and also cleaning of floors furniture and even the restrooms this loophole is at a travesty such wage is of a slave labor threshold it is actually amazing that these restaurant owners get away with such and in regards to the alternative the waitress is also forcedto not only tip the bartender the seating hostess and also the busboy in which all of those above actually do get a minimum wage . further deteriorating they're income . Bearing witness to such saddens me to see such taking place here in America were they say equality amongst its citizens and a far minimum wage shouldbe imposed and enforced with teeth in it these extraordinary loopholes should be closed , I may be an old man but in my day a waitress whom is handling my food and showing courtesy and a shining polite attitude and personality expediting a request in ordering also attending to trivial exceptions an request was tipped due to such performance levels  over and above the standard form of service . but far to many times these things get overlooked and far too few actually realise such waitresses are being paid much less than the standard minimum wage . This becomes grossly abused when those that are from other states or countries where such wage levels are high taking it not into consideration of the waitresses actual wage an slip out on the tip completely  letting the waitress holding up the taxed level out of they're own pay income . "holding the bag so to speak".  This travesty is overwhelming when I myself thought the UnitedStates actually meant UNITED . I am actually disgusted in such loopholes and they should be closed throughout the entire United States .  Somebody here ought to know who is responsible for these loopholes and brought to the attention to the entire country and the president.  I bet he has no idea this is still taking place and has been the like for over 20 years . regardless I myself would like to know ?

 "WHO'S RESPONSIBLE"  ?

I myself will buy a 2.00 cup of coffee  sit down at the table drink it and read my newspaper upon getting up I leave a twenty yes dammit a 20.00 . The next time I returned not only was my coffee on the table with extra cream and sugar  a newspaper was left folded and the waitress remembered my name with a smile courtesy and a surprising politeness which actually made my day . It is to bad more in this country don't follow suite in such lead in regards to this over looked tragedy.  our country is in dire shape this one pose is not going to make a severe difference but it has to start somewhere !