subminimum

[ suhb-min-uh-muhm ]

adjective

1. being below a minimum standard, rate, quota, etc.:

   a subminimum wage for teenagers.

noun

1. something that is below a minimum standard or rate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of subminimum¹

sub- + minimum

Example Sentences

Currently, only seven states have eliminated the subminimum wage for tipped employees: Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

From Salon

State Sen. Noel Frame first met ObeySumner when ObeySumner was working as an activist, trying to end the paying of subminimum wages to people with disabilities.

From Seattle Times

SB 62 aims to overhaul the pay model for garment workers, now largely paid subminimum wages, and introduce more accountability into the fashion supply chain.

From Los Angeles Times

Give me tens of billions of dollars and a $120 billion valuation and someday, somehow, I will replace every taxi driver with gig workers paid subminimum wages—or robot taxis paid no wages—while charging exorbitant fares for rides, increasing pollution, and adding to traffic.

From Slate

She said the bill was partly inspired by a jury awarding $17.3 million to immigrants held in a Tacoma detention center who earned $1 a day and the state’s elimination of subminimum wages for people with disabilities.

From Seattle Times