Minimum Wage

TRENTON - So much for the bipartisan lovefest brought on by Hurricane Sandy. Democrat and Republican senators clashed Monday over a proposal to raise the state's minimum wage to $8.50 from $7.25 and provide for annual cost of living increases. The Senate Budget committee advanced the bill by a 7-6 vote, and the Senate is expected to deliver final approval next week. Republicans beseeched Democrats, who rule both chambers in Trenton, to consider phasing in the raise to blunt labor costs to storm-damaged businesses.

New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) has wisely agreed to post a bill that would increase the state's minimum wage much faster than his proposal to embed the pay hike in the state constitution. The bill increasing the lowest-paid workers' wages from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour has been ready for Senate action since May, when the Assembly passed it. But Sweeney delayed scheduling it because he was concerned that Gov. Christie would veto it or strip out cost-of-living increases.

More than 1,000 foreign college students who came to the United States for a cultural exchange but ended up working long hours for below minimum wage in a warehouse packaging Hershey's candy will receive back pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday. Three companies will pay $213,042 to 1,028 students who worked at the warehouse in Palmyra, Pa., between November 2009 and October 2011. The students made headlines in August 2011 when they went on strike over their situation and the complicated hiring process behind it. "I feel deeply inspired today, because our strike has had the incredible result of exposing and addressing the fundamental problems facing so many workers," Chinese student Chen Wen said in a statement from the National Guestworker Alliance, an advocacy group.

After a months-long stalemate over ways to raise the state's minimum wage, Senate Democrats have agreed to put forward an Assembly-approved bill that would boost the wage to $8.50 from $7.25 and include annual cost-of-living increases. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) held back on the Assembly bill, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D., Essex), after Gov. Christie indicated that he did not support indexing the minimum wage to changes in cost of living.

Are the "gauchos" who cut and serve meat in the Brazilian style at the NaBrasa Brazilian Steakhouse in Horsham professionals who, therefore, don't qualify for overtime? The restaurant said sim - Portuguese for yes - but the U.S. Department of Labor said nao, so the restaurant has agreed to pay $110,000 in back wages to 42 employees. Professionals generally don't qualify for overtime pay, according to the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. NaBrasa owner Celso Leite describes the gauchos as professionals.

TRENTON - State Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) was unwavering Monday in his resolve to seek a constitutional amendment that would increase New Jersey's minimum hourly wage to $8.25 and provide regular increases based on inflation. In 2005, before he became president of the Democratic-controlled Senate, he acceded to his party's request to strip annual adjustments tied to the consumer price index from his bill to raise the minimum wage to $7.15, Sweeney said Monday. Had he not given in, said Sweeney - whose district has the state's lowest per-capita income - that wage now would be $9.20 instead of the current $7.25, the lowest hourly rate permitted by the federal government.

A strong majority of New Jerseyans wants to raise the state's minimum wage and lock in automatic cost-of-living increases, according to The Inquirer New Jersey poll, which interviewed 604 likely voters earlier this month. But the public, like its representatives in Trenton, is divided over the best way to ensure the rate keeps pace with inflation. Of those who responded, 76 percent supported increasing the hourly wage to $8.25 from $7.25, and tying the new wage to the consumer price index, which measures changes in inflation.

A strong majority of New Jerseyans wants to raise the state's minimum wage and lock in automatic cost-of-living increases, according to The Inquirer New Jersey poll, which interviewed 604 likely voters earlier this month. But the public, like its representatives in Trenton, is divided over the best way to ensure the rate keeps pace with inflation. Of those who responded, 76 percent supported increasing the hourly wage to $8.25 from $7.25, and tying the new wage to the consumer price index, which measures changes in inflation.

Two out of three restaurant workers in Philadelphia would not be able to support a family of three on their wages, according to a study of the city's restaurant industry released today. "Philadelphia restaurant workers are worse off than they were a decade ago," notes the report titled "Behind the Kitchen Door: The Hidden Reality of Philadelphia's Thriving Restaurant Industry. " Restaurant employees also face rampant discrimination, wage theft and unsafe working conditions, the report said.

You are your brother's keeper The problem with relying solely on charities and religious institutions as a safety net is that these organizations are often financially strapped and cannot help everyone who needs it. In addition, they can and frequently must be selective about whom they assist. It should be clear from the economic events of the past few years that misfortune can befall even the most virtuous among us, regardless of individual initiative. What conservatives often miss is the basic idea of citizenship, that society is interconnected and that something exists beyond themselves.