Information AboutWage |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WAGE | |
| employment compensation | |
| wage | |
| labor economics | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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Early forms of wages included Salt (from which the word ''salary'' is derived). In modern English, the word Salary tends to be used when referring to employment in which the employee is not paid by the hour. Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates are either primarily market-driven (the USA) or influenced by other factors such as tradition, social structure and seniority, as in Japan . Several countries have enacted a statutory Minimum Wage rate in an attempt to prevent the (some say supposed) exploitation of low-paid workers. ETYMOLOGY ''Wage'' derives from words suggesting making a promise, often in monetary form. Specifically from the Old French word ''wagier'' or ''gagier'' meaning to pledge or promise, from which the money placed in a bet (''wager'') also derives. These in turn may derive from the French ''gage'' to wager, the Gothic ''wadi'', or the Late Latin ''wadium'', also meaning "a pledge". WAGES IN THE UNITED STATES In the United States , wages for most workers are set by market forces, or else by collective bargaining, where a Labor Union negotiates on workers' behalf. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires a Minimum Wage at the Federal level although states and cities can and sometimes do set their own higher minimum. For certain Federal or State Government contacts, employers must pay the so-called Prevailing Wage as determined according to the Davis-Bacon Act or its State equivalent. Activists have also undertaken to promote the idea of a Living Wage higher than current laws require. SEE ALSO
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