What is the difference between a “living wage” and a “minimum wage?
” A minimum wage merely establishes a floor for hourly wages that workers must be paid. Aside from the federal minimum wage, states set their own minimum wage levels. Supporters intend a “living wage” to be higher than a minimum wage. To do this, they define a living wage as an hourly rate of pay to enable one full-time wage earner to earn enough income to maintain a family of four above the federal poverty level. Federal poverty level guidelines are revised yearly by the Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations of the living wage invariably result in substantially higher rates of pay than either the federal or state minimum wages. • Are living wage laws the same everywhere? No. In terms of coverage, living wage laws have expanded to include employers and entities other than those contracted to perform government services. Some have expanded coverage to all businesses within a certain geographic area regardless of whether or not the firms have contracted to perform governm
