Here is the minimum wage for California compared to the federal minimum wage:
The federal minimum wage lost value in practically every year since 1980, while the California minimum generally continued to rise with inflation. In 2016, as the federal minimum fell further and further behind inflation, California went in the other direction, raising it more than inflation.
Just judging by inflation, the minimum wage today should be about $12. It's $3.50 above that in California and $4.75 below that federally. So it's no wonder that the federal minimum wage is little more than an historical artifact. Practically nobody is paid the federal minimum wage anymore:
(The people paid less than the minimum wage are typically teenagers and tipped workers in states where this is legal.)
I'm baffled at how the "tipped worker" thing was allowed to happen since it seems obviously a bad idea.
Two word: Herman Cain.
And the National Restaurant Association. (The other NRA)
"Millions of our members will go out of business without a tipped worker carve out."
That is why California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada are dining deserts. Not a place to eat because of high wages.
Most people getting paid less than minimum wage are undocumented immigrants who were hired by their employers specifically because you can pay them diddly, treat them abominably, fire them if they get sick, and not worry about them complaining to anybody. This is exactly the business model of most of the meat packing industry.
All restaurant servers get paid less than minimum wage. That is what accounts for most of them.
Not in the civilized states. Here in California the minimum wage is the minimum wage. There has never been a tipped minimum. Surprisingly, we still have restaurants.
While it does not say so explicitly, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-01-mn-628-story.html suggests there may have been prior to 1975.
Looks like there are seven states that require tipped employees be paid the state minimum wage before tips -- AK, CA, MN, MT, NV, OR and WA. I didn't realize any states did that. Learn something new every day.
The importance of the minimum wage is as a floor. In any business or industry, the very lowest-paid, unskilled, just-hired worker might start at the minimum wage or close to it. But anyone with more responsibility, or a skill, or more seniority, will get more, and so on up the ranks. Raising the minimum gives all these other people a raise too, and there are usually a lot more of them. It doesn't matter so much how few people actually get the minimum wage.
But we all knew this, including Kevin.