wage floor
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A legally established minimum level of pay: A "wage floor" is the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly wage rate that an employer is legally permitted to pay a worker. It is a baseline set by law to prevent wages from falling below a certain standard.
Usage
The term "wage floor" is used in economic, political, and labor contexts to discuss minimum wage laws and policies. - It functions as a singular noun (e.g., the wage floor) but can be used in the plural form (e.g., wage floors) when discussing different levels or standards in multiple regions or sectors.
Examples
- The government raised the wage floor to ensure a basic standard of living for all full-time workers.
- Economists debate the impact of a high wage floor on small business employment.
- Several states have set a wage floor that is higher than the federal minimum.
Advanced Usage
- "to set/establish a wage floor": To institute a minimum wage by law or policy.
- The new legislation aims to set a national wage floor.
- "to adjust/raise the wage floor": To increase the existing minimum wage level.
- The committee votes annually on whether to adjust the wage floor for inflation.
Variants and Related Words
- Minimum wage: This is the most common synonym and equivalent term for "wage floor."
- Base pay: Refers to the fundamental rate of pay excluding benefits, which may be governed by a wage floor.
- Living wage: A wage that is high enough to maintain a normal standard of living, often discussed as a potential or desired wage floor.
Synonyms
- Minimum wage
- Pay floor
- Base wage
Related Concepts (Not Phrasal Verbs or Idioms)
- Wage ceiling: The opposite concept; a legally mandated maximum limit on wages.
- Subminimum wage: A wage rate allowed to fall below the standard wage floor for specific groups, such as trainees or workers with disabilities.
Noun
- floor below which wages are not allowed to fall