Minimum Wage Webquest
https://minimum-wage.procon.org/history-of-the-minimum-wage/
1. The federal minimum wage was introduced in
1938 during the Great Depression under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
2. What was the minimum wage when it was first introduced? 25 cents
3. What is the current Federal minimum wage, and when did Congress last raise it? $7.25
raised in 2009
4. What do proponents (people for it) say about why we need to raise the minimum wage?s
too low for anyone to live on; that a higher minimum wage will help create jobs and grow
the economy;s too low for anyone to live on; that a higher minimum wage will help create
jobs and grow the economy;
5. Why do opponents say we shouldn’t raise the minimum wage? many businesses cannot
afford to pay their workers more, and will be forced to close, lay off workers, or reduce
hiring
Early History
6. Which movement pushed to establish the first minimum wage? Progressivism
7. Name three things the Fair Standards Act of 1938 consisted of. National minimum wage
of $0.25 an hour, a 44-hour work week, and the prohibition of “oppressive” child labor.
Early Supreme Court
8. In the 1941 case United States v Darby, what did the Supreme Court rule? The Supreme
Court upheld the constitutionality of federal minimum wage provisions within the PCA in
the 1940 case of Perkins v. Lukens Steel Co.
Who Earns the Federal Minimum Wage
9. How many people work for minimum wage in the United States? 1.8 million workers
10. Which groups of people can be paid less than minimum wage? full-time students who
can be paid no less than 85% of the federal minimum wage,
11. What percent of the workers earning minimum wage are over 25 years old? 51% of
workers
12. What percent do women make up as minimum wage workers? 63% are women
13. What percent of workers are in food preparation and serving-related occupations? 53%
work in food preparation and serving related occupations.
State Minimum Wage Movement
14. Which state or city has the highest minimum wage, and what is it? the highest being DC
at $12.50 an hour.
15. What states do not have a minimum wage, and how much must employers pay in those
states? Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee
16. What is the minimum wage in the following cities Mountain View, CA, Sunnyvale, CA,
and Seattle, WA? the highest of these is $15.00 an hour in Mountain View, CA, Sunnyvale,
CA, and Seattle, WA.
US Living Wage
17. Name three companies that pay higher than minimum wage, and how much do they
pay? Amazon - $15 Walmart and Target - $15 Disneyland $15 Ben & Jerry’s - $16.92
Public Opinion
18. In 2017, what did a Quinnipiac University poll find? 54% of Americans would support
raising the federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour with 44% opposing.
19. In the 2013 Gallup poll, what percent of business owners opposed the minimum wage
increase? 50% of small business owners were opposed to raising the minimum wage to
$9.50 an hour and 60% believed such an increase would hurt most small business owners.
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm#:~:text=The%20minimum%20wage%20in%20California,Coun
ty%20minimum%20wages%20in%20California
20. What is the current minimum wage in California, and what will it be in 2023 (Look at
the chart)? The minimum wage in California is currently $15.00/hour for employers with
26 or more employees, and $14.00/hour for employers with 25 or less employees. Some
cities and counties have higher minimum wages than the state’s rate.
https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/06037
21. What is a living wage? (First Paragraph) The living wage shown is the hourly rate
that an individual in a household must earn to support his or herself and their family.
22. From the first chart, how much does an adult with one child make an hour to be at a
living wage? $44.71
23. What would be a poverty wage for someone with one child? $8.38
24. From the typical expenses, how much does a person with one child need to make
(Required annual income before taxes)? $92,999
25. From Typical Annual Salaries, what is the best and least-paying job?
26. Which occupation from the chart might you go into, and how much does it pay?
27. How much would you make if you worked for $11 an hour for 40 hours a week for 52
weeks a year? 11 X 40 X 52=
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/los-angeles/
28. What is the average cost of an apartment in Los Angeles?
https://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/california/california-state-university-stanislaus/
29. What is the average cost of attending a California State University? Hint-Look for the
total cost.
30. What do you think? Should California or the Federal minimum wage be increased to $15
an hour or more? If not, how much should it be? You will need to write 4 sentences and
number your sentences.