Posted on 05/26/2011 11:00:56 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
Perhaps you didn't catch the sentence in the article that stated the farmers are offering, on average, $12.50 per hour. More than minimum wage, no?
We have a farm and I can attest to the fact that you can't get most locals to work, even offering several dollars more than minimum wage. I will pay hard workers $10-12 an hour, provide transportation if needed, and feed them lunch. There are few takers. Why would they work in the heat and humidity when taxpayers will pay them to sit on the porch at home?
Thanks for the detail on wages there. There is not a labor shortage. Just a shotage of people willing to work for third world wages in GA
There are certain exemptions from the federal wage laws, such as companies doing less than $500k annually, so long as their business does not cross state lines.
It's hot and humid in the whole of the South, nobody is going to make a living farming 4 hours a day, which is about all that it MIGHT be comfortable.
Just remember, the wages the chinese worker gets is all take home pay, about $490 a month and have more money saved than most Americans. Daily living expenses do not include many that are considered normal in the US like insurance. Payroll tax is about 64% and provides a housing allowance and other benefits to cover monthly living. Still, the wages are low but it is only the labor intensive manufacturing that sees that advantage. The reality is that businesses do not locate in China to save labor costs. Many were chased out of the US over a hostile business climate. One line item of non salary related G&A expence in the U.S covers a lot of G&A expenses at a factory in China. Anyone reading this have experince complying with government regulatory compliance paperwork?
As a business owner I keep myself highly informed and enlightened of the Federal labor laws and I have not found any reference to your statement in all of the rules and regulations I have read.
Please provide the federal CFR reference for your statement. If you can find it and cite it, my hat’s off to you. If not, your statement could possibly lead to many small employers reading your post to unknowingly violate Federal minimum wage requirements.
In ALL CASES Federal employment laws supersede state laws.
The particular exemption that I posted (less than 500k, no business across state lines) came from Wiki. It is my hope that nobody is relying on forum posts to guide their hiring and employment practices.
Thank you for pointing out my possible error. There are certainly exemptions to federal minimum wage, but at this time I can't assert that my original post is one of them.
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