CLAIMS IN RELATION TO MINIMUM WAGES

CLAIMS IN RELATION TO MINIMUM WAGES

Author :- Dhruvi Jain,a Student at BM Law College.

Introduction

Labor is compensated with wages. The basic types of pay are nominal and real. 

Money wages are ‘nominal wages’. However, ‘real wages’ relate to the goods and services delivered by wages. Workers' level of life depends on actual pay, not money wages. Real earnings rely on numerous factors, including money's buying power, employees' advantages like free boarding and lodging, regularity of employment, working conditions, etc. Money wages may not necessarily boost real wages.

Despite rising earnings, workers may lose out if prices grow faster. So focusing at money salaries doesn't guarantee that employees in a nation are well off. However, salaries are usually money.

Professional wages include any monetary reward for hours worked. Their salary and distribution depend on the employer's payroll policy and other considerations.

Wages are paid to workers for labour or services done by an employer. A check or direct deposit into the employee's bank account or a designated account is used to pay wages directly to the employee. Flights and other non-cash incentives are usually excluded from pay for tax reasons. Usually called fringe benefits. This article covers pay kinds, concepts, salary vs. wages, and more.

Theory of Wages in India

The minimum salaries in India exhibit variations across different states, and are classified based on many factors like geographical location, sector of employment, skill level, and job characteristics. The regulation of the minimum wage fell under the jurisdiction of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, until the previous year. The aforementioned alteration occurred in the preceding year subsequent to the enactment of the Code on Wages Act, 2019 by the parliament in the month of August.

The Code on Wages Act serves as a replacement for four existing labor legislation, including the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, the Payment of Wages Act of 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act of 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976.

The recently implemented wage legislation establishes a prohibition on firms compensating employees below the prescribed minimum wage. Moreover, it is essential that minimum salaries undergo periodic revision and evaluation by both the national and state governments, with a maximum interval of five years.

What is the methodology used for determining the minimum wage in India?

India has established a nationwide minimum wage of around Rs. 176 per day, equivalent to Rs. 4,576 per month. Moreover, several state governments, such as Andhra Pradesh, provide tax incentives to enterprises that provide job opportunities within the local community.

It is important to acknowledge that the minimum wage and income structure in India varies depending on many criteria, including the state, the region within the state based on its degree of development (zone), the industry, the vocation, and the skill level. This provides international investors with a variety of choices when deciding on the optimal location for their establishment.

Claims under the minimum wages act 1948 

Section 20 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, covers claims. Section (1) allows the government to appoint a Commissioner for Work-men's Compensation, Labour Commissioner, State Government Officer, or Stipendiary Magistrate to hear and decide cases. 

(2) If an employee has a claim under sub-section (1), they or their legal representative, trade union official, or inspector may request a direction under sub-section (3) from the authority appointed under sub-section (1). 

Every application must be submitted within six months of the minimum wage or other sum becoming due: 

Provided Any application may be allowed after six months if the applicant can show the authorities that he had good reason for not applying sooner. 

(3) When any application under sub-section (2) is entertained the authority shall hear the applicant and the employer or give them an opportunity of being heard and after such further inquiry if any as it may consider necessary may without prejudice to any other penalty to which the employer may be liable under this Act direct- (i) in the case of a claim arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages the payment to the employee of the amount by which the minimum wages payable to him exceed the amount actually paid together with the payment of such compensation as the authority may think fit not exceeding ten times the amount of such excess; (ii) in any other case the payment of the amount due to the employee together with the payment of such compensation as the authority may think fit not exceeding ten rupees; and the authority may direct payment of such compensation in cases where the excess or the amount due is paid by the employer to the employee before the disposal of the application. 

(4) If the authority hearing an application under this section finds it malicious or vexatious, it may order the applicant to pay the employer a penalty not to exceed fifty rupees. 

(5) The authority may recover any amount directed to be paid under this section by treating it as a fine imposed by the authority or by any Magistrate to whom the authority applies. 

(6) Authority directions under this section are final. 

(7) Every authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (5 of 1908) for the purpose of taking evidence, enforcing witness attendance, and compelling document production, and shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (5 of 1898) Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

Case Laws:

Patel v. Wargo, 

The person suing, Patel, worked as a gas station worker for the person being sued, Wargo. He said that he wasn't paid the minimum pay. Patel took his case to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry, which held a meeting and ruled in his favor.

Conclusion: The court decided that the meeting held by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry met the standards of due process for deciding claims about minimum pay. The court agreed with the ruling that Patel was right.

Balderas v. La Liga United Soccer League,

The claimants were soccer refs who said they weren't paid the minimum pay for their work. They took their case to the California Labor Commissioner, who held a meeting and ruled in their favor.

The court decided that the meeting held by the California Labor Commissioner was enough to meet the standards of due process for handling claims about minimum pay. It was upheld by the court that the claimants were right.

Flores v. City of San Gabriel (C.D. Cal.; Oct. 29, 2013).

The claimants were police officers who said they weren't paid the minimum pay for the time it took to put on and take off their clothes and other gear. They took their case to the California Labor Commissioner, who held a meeting and ruled in their favor.

The court decided that the meeting held by the California Labor Commissioner was enough to meet the standards of due process for handling claims about minimum pay. It was upheld by the court that the claimants were right.

India's process for hearing and ruling on claims about minimum pay can be different based on the details of the case. Usually, there are two main ways to pursue a minimum wage claim: submitting a report to the right officials or launching a court case.

Conclusion

The 1948 Minimum Wages Act protected manual workers from exploitation, changing employee pay systems.

Minimum wage issues must be heard and decided in India to ensure fair pay. The 1948 Minimum Wages Act governs India's minimum pay. The Act establishes the Minimum Salaries Board to determine minimum wages for different industries and professions and enforcement procedures to ensure compliance.

The employee must apply to the appropriate authorities, giving the employer's name and address, the kind of job, and the minimum salary demanded. The authority may convene a hearing and examine the workplace to support the employee's minimum wage claim.

The authority may order the business to pay the minimum wage plus interest if the employee is unpaid. The government may punish the corporation for minimum wage infractions.

India's minimum wage hearing and determination procedure might be improved. Simplifying the application process, improving access to information, expediting hearings, tightening enforcement, raising non-compliance fines, using technology, and increasing openness may improve fairness and efficiency.