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minimum wage

(Encyclopedia)minimum wage, lowest wage legally permitted in an industry or in a government or other organization. The goal in establishing minimum wages has been to assure wage earners a standard of living above t...

Fair Havens

(Encyclopedia)Fair Havens, Crete: see Lasea.

Fair Isle

(Encyclopedia)Fair Isle, island, c.3 sq mi (7.8 sq km), off N Scotland, southernmost of the Shetland Islands. It is known for its traditional knitting in bright, multicolored designs and for its bird sanctuary. ...

Fair Lawn

(Encyclopedia)Fair Lawn, borough (2020 pop. 34,927), Bergen co., NE N.J., across the Passaic River from Paterson; inc. 1924. It is residential with light industries. ...

Labor, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Labor, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1913 and charged with administering and enforcing statutes that promote the welfare of U.S. wage earners, improve their ...

National Institute of Standards and Technology

(Encyclopedia)National Institute of Standards and Technology, governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of “working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and st...

convict labor

(Encyclopedia)convict labor, work of prison inmates. Until the 19th cent., labor was introduced in prisons chiefly as punishment. Such work is now considered a necessary part of the rehabilitation of the criminal; ...

migrant labor

(Encyclopedia)migrant labor, term applied in the United States to laborers who travel from place to place harvesting crops that must be picked as soon as they ripen. Although migrant labor patterns exist in other p...

Labor Day

(Encyclopedia)Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by t...

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