Show IA LETTER LETTE States Experience in Minimum Wage Laws Guides Congress ate BY SPi UAL W WASHINGTON Problems Problems of administering the Black Black- Black Connery Conner Connery bill It if it Is passed will wUl willbe willbe be somewhat simplified because the federal government can draw on the tho experience of eight states which already have work work- working working working ing minimum wage laws of their own fhe The he federal wage and hour hou bill is ia similar to the New York law and was in fn n fact tact written by Ben Cohen self sell effacing New D Deal al brain truster who drafted the New York law The New NewYork NewYork NewYork York law ap applies Ues only to women and mInors but but the federal bill embraces both men and women A limited number of wage earners will be affected by y the Connery Black Connery bill it if it becomes bc omes law It Is estimated there are about persons in the industrIes to be covered who are earning less than 40 cents an hour and there are about 8 0 persons who are working more than 40 hours a week There will be no minimum wage regulation to protect theman the theman theman man whose income is more than 1200 a year and industries and small businesses will be left to the states to regu regu- regulate regu- regu regulate regulate late Mrs Elmore Ellnore til ti Herrick New NewYork NewYork NewYork York regional director of ot the National Labor Relations Board thinks the yardstick for tor wages which will be used by the fed fed- federal federal fed federal eral board will be those wages which a majority in any specified specified specified fied Industry would and could support voluntarily Labor laws such as that pro pro- proposed pro proposed posed by Black and Connery are designed to control a sub stand sub substandard substandard stand ard minority and eliminate sub sub- substandard sub substandard standard practices This enables those employers who voluntarily subscribe to decent decent de- de cent cent wage standards to maintain and Improve those standards Mrs Herrick e explained that It has been the experience of the New York board that it cannot set a wage higher than the wage in effect In the upper quarter of ofa ofa ofa a given industry It is la tho rul rula i h tc tic I York state for tor all interested parties in wage disputes to be given an opportunity to express their views in to hearings TH THE Nw New NewYork York board rarely has found It necessary to chastise an employer with the full penalties of fine tine and or and I imprisonment or both Mrs Herrick testified before the Connery Brach Committee For For years Wt we have h had d a system system system tem of ot departmental hearings where a persistent violator is called In and his whole record Is gone over with him tarn He is reasoned with th warned and then advised to go and bin in no more It is only if it he again appears as asan asan asan an incorrigible that the full tull penalties pen pen- penalties pen penalties are invoked This pro pro- procedure procedure pro procedure has worked so well in New York that it has been found necessary to prosecute but very few tew As an example of what the them m i New York board considers just cause for prosecution Mrs Her Her- Herrick Herrick Her Herrick rick recalled the case of Joe a laundryman who figured fig fig- figI figured fig figured I in the thA historic New York YorkI I wasi minimum wage case which was appealed to the Supreme Court Evidence against was that he falsified his books I a forced the girls to kickback their pay and finally forged signa signa- signatures signatures tures to pay checks so 51 thy would look regular to the In- In Inspector inspector In Inspector There has hns been opposition to the of a federal wage and hours board on the ground that it would e exercise autocratic I power Mr Mrs Herricks Herrick's answer to that Is that in her experience Ithe the National Labor Relations Board Board as a parent body has exercised ex a restraining Influence on field agents and made them prove their cases before allowing allow- allow mg ing them to proceed d against aga any employer employer I I Restraint is Imposed on the board itself by the necessity ot of making tanking reports to Congress from which It drafts ss dra s Its lira uta blood It in |