Minimum Wage Case Study

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According to lawsuits filed in New York Courts alleged by nail salon workers getting paid less than minimum wage. The salon in East Northport, N.Y. where workers said they were paid just 1.5 an hour during a 66-hour work week. As stated by US census, there are more than 2000 nail salons in New York City (NYC) area, in which it includes Manhattan, Bergen county, Staten Island, Nassau county, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, and no other metropolitan area can be rival to NYC when it comes to the numbers of nail salon. New York Times interviewed workers and owners of more than 150 nail salons and found out that a vast majority of workers are paid less than minimum wage. They also have to endure all kinds of humiliation such as having their tips dropped as punishment for minor wrongdoings, constant monitoring by owners, and even physical abuse. According to New York Times, a new …show more content…

As a protection to nail salon workers from losing job, we should implement a new policy that enforce the employers to keep the workers for at least 5 more years with offering healthcare benefits and appropriate wage for the job but the monetary compensation the workers win from lawsuit will be included in the punishment package. This would be gradually paying to the whistleblowers. And the employers cannot shut down their business without a valid qualification. So far, many business who have been sued tend to pay some fine and let the employee out of the work by gradual reduction of the hour of the employee. There have not been a clear guideline and procedure taken place to punish those employers and help out employees after whistleblowing. What the employees are afraid of is retaliation from employers. If we take an alternative as forcing the business who violate the law, it would prevent the business from wrongdoing but ultimately result in the whistleblowing losing their