In years gone by, retailing and fast foods had the reputation of hiring people on salary, calling them "managers," and demanding that they work a lot of hours with no additional compensation. (BTW, in the time period I'm talking about the best employers of the type were McDonalds, Sears, and K-Mart).
People did it because IT WAS THE BEST JOB THEY COULD GET. You were talking about people with either no degree or a worthless degree ("English Lit"), and that crappy job at an Arby's was the best option they had. In theory, it could result in a much higher paying job in the future (store manager, district manager, regional manager), but the reality was that most people just used those jobs as stepping stones and they left as soon as they could find something better. Often, they ended up with retailers or restaurant chains that paid better, based on the experience they got at Arby's. So all in all, it was only temporary and it wasn't such a bad deal when considered as part of an overall career.
"Wage & Hour" laws are based on the premise that employers have an unfair advantage over employees, and must be FORCED by government to "do the right thing." The fact is that when you seek and accept a job, everything is right on the table in front of you ,and if you think you have a better alternative, you are FREE TO GO SOMEPLACE ELSE where you can do better. The same holds true on Day 1, Day 100, or after 25 years. If you think you can do better someplace else (or working for yourself) you are free to do so.
The people who conceive and write these laws and regulations, however, have mainly NEVER HAD A REAL JOB IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES, and thus are susceptible to ridiculous sob stories about anecdotal situations where people were FORCED TO REMAIN in a job that was horrible.
I have had a dozen or more crappy jobs in my life. Short order cook, security guard, retail assistant manager, janitor, and so on. And I ALWAYS looked for something better, and I ALWAYS took the better job as soon as it was available. And to the people who are "demanding" $15/hr to work in a crappy job, I say, you took that job voluntarily, and you can leave any time you like. If you think you are WORTH $15/hr, find some employer or occupation that pays it, and knock yourself out. But don't expect THIS employer to pony up the extra money just because you feel entitled to it. You have no RIGHT to someone else's MONEY.
That's the spirit! Anyone can be stuck at work for 60 hrs a week at $23k a year, and still find plenty of room in their schedule and their budget to go back to school and get their college degree. It's only the reasonable thing to do.
