A Fair Minimum Wage for Pennsylvania Workers and their Families- Clergy Materials

Across Pennsylvania the week of March 13 is a Week of Action for a Fair Minimum Wage. We encourage religious leaders to include the issue in worship services during that week to engage the faithful in efforts to aid the working poor of our state.

As people of faith we recognize that the causes of poverty are complex and that a comprehensive solution will include more than a single initiative. At the same time, an adequate minimum wage for all workers is an essential part of an overall strategy in addressing poverty.

In addition to the economic benefits it will bring to the entire economy, increasing the Pennsylvania minimum wage affirms both the value of work and the value to society of those who engage in it. Increasing the minimum wage will remove barriers that make it more difficult for many to pursue education or training or to attend to the needs of their families. More desperately for some, an increase will contribute to improved physical health.

The Pennsylvania minimum wage is only $7.25 and has not been raised since 2009. The legislature has not voted on the issue in ten years. Nearly 1.3 million workers and their families would get a raise if Pennsylvania would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, which several bills have proposed. Almost 25% of these workers are parents and many are the sole support of their children. Tipped workers only receive $2.83 per hour and have not had an increase in 17 years.

Scripture speaks loudly on the need to offer working people a fair wage. For example,

James 5: 4 “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against… those who oppress the hired worker in his wages”Jeremiah 22:13 "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And does not give him his wages”

We urge people of faith to take up the issue of the Pennsylvania minimum wage. Legislation has been bottled up in committee since January of 2015, which means that there has been no opportunity to vote on the issue. Recent research shows that raising the PA minimum wage to $10.10 would generate $225 for the current Pennsylvania budget, which could help fund our schools and reduce the state deficit.

We encourage concerned citizens to contact their elected officials to support and allow a vote on a minimum wage of at least $10.10 per hour with a cost of living escalator, including eliminating the separate tipped minimum wage. Justice for all of our people requires a substantial increase in the Pennsylvania minimum wage.

For more information contact Raise the Wage PA at 215-557-0822 or email Agoldman@Philaup.org, www.RaisetheWagePA.org,

Who will be affected by an increase in the Pennsylvania minimum wage to $10.10 per hours by

July 2016

Workers currently making less than the increased minimum wage will be directly affected plus workers who make just above the new minimum wage will be indirectly affected by the “ripple effect” of an increase.

1,265,000 Pennsylvania workers would get an increase in pay.

58.6% of those affected will be women.

87% of those affected would be over age 20 (not teenagers).

73.4% of affected workers will be white.

36.4% of all Latino workers will get a raise with an increase.

32.3% of all Black workers will be affected.

29.6% of all Asian workers will be affected.

23.4% of affected workers have children.

40.3% of affected workers will have full time jobs.

83.6% of workers who will be affected by a minimum wage increase have a high

school degree or more.

28.8% of affected workers will have some college education.

16.4% of affected workers who have children will be the only bread winner in

their family.

Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Harkin-Miller minimum wage proposal using Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Prepared by Raise the Wage PA 112 N. Broad St. 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-557-0822 www.RaisethewagePA.org, Facebook.com/RaisetheWagePA,

Twitter: @RaisethewagePA

Minimum Wage Legislation in PA General Assembly – 2015-16

PA Senate

SB195 Senator Christine Tartaglione – D – Philadelphia County

Date: Minimum Wage Set to:July 1, 2015 $8.67 per hourJan. 1, 2016 $10.10 per hour

Increased by annual cost-of-living adjustment beginning Jan. 1, 2017. Increases penalties for wage theft up to 2x subject wages plus wages themselves. Provides for increased fines. Increases record-keeping requirements for Dept. of Labor & Industry and for employers. Creates a Wage Enforcement Fund. Removes statewide preemption of local minimum wage laws.

SB196 Senator Christine Tartaglione – D – Philadelphia County

Date: Tipped Minimum Wage Set to:July 1, 2015 $3.95 per hourJan. 1, 2016 70% of minimum wage

Increases record-keeping requirements for Dept. of Labor & Industry

SB197 Senator Christine Tartaglione – D – Philadelphia County

Increases minimum wage by annual cost-of-living adjustment beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

SB198 Senator Christine Tartaglione – D – Philadelphia County

Provides for additional fines for wage theft. Increases record-keeping requirements for Dept. of Labor & Industry and for employers. Creates a Wage Enforcement Fund.

SB199 Senator Christine Tartaglione – D – Philadelphia County

Outlaws deduction of credit card fees from employee tips.

SB836 Senator Daylin Leach – D – Delaware & Montgomery Counties

Raises the minimum wage (including tipped workers) to $15 per hour 30 days after passage. Increases minimum wage with annual cost of living adjustment beginning 1 year after passage.

SB610 Senator Scott Wagner – R – York

Date: Minimum Wage Set to:July 1, 2015 $7.75 per hourJuly 1, 2016 $8.25 per hourJuly 1, 2017 $8.75 per hour

Workers 18 and under are exempt from the raise. Includes language to reinforce the preemption of local minimum wage laws.

PA House

HB436 Representative Mark Cohen – D – Philadelphia County

Date: Minimum Wage Set to:60 days after passage $9.00 per hour425 days after passage $10.10 per hour790 days after passage $11.50 per hour

Date: Tipped Minimum Wage Set to:Upon passage $3.83 per hour365 days after passage $4.83 per hour730 days after passage 70% of the minimum wage

Increased by annual cost-of-living adjustment beginning Jan. 1, 2017. Department of Labor & Industry must collect information on numbers of employers who violate act (including amounts of fines imposed) and publish it on their website (updated every six months). Removes statewide preemption of local minimum wage laws.

HB1694 Representative Mark Cohen – D – Philadelphia County

Date: Minimum Wage Set to:90 days after passage $9.00 per hour365 days after passage $10.50 per hour730 days after passage $12.50 per hour795 days after passage $13.50 per hour1060 days after passage $15 per hour

Increased by annual cost-of-living adjustment beginning 1 year after minimum wage reaches $15 per hour. Department of Labor & Industry must collect information on numbers of employers who violate act (including amounts of fines imposed) and publish it on their website (updated every six months). Removes statewide preemption of local minimum wage laws.

HB250 Representative Patty Kim – D – Dauphin County

Date: Minimum Wage Set to:6 months after passage $9.00 per hour12 months after passage $10.10 per hour

Date Tipped Minimum Wage Set to:6 months after passage 50% of the minimum wage12 months after passage 75% of the minimum wage

increased by annual cost-of-living adjustment beginning Dec. 31, 2016. Increases fines for wage theft. Removes statewide preemption of local minimum wage laws.

$1.8 Billion in additional income for low wage workers in PA with an increase to a $10.10/hour minimum wage.

Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour benefits over 1.2 million low-wage workers and boosts our economy

A person in Pennsylvania working full-time, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, earns only $15,080 annually, well below the poverty line for a family of two. Increasing the wage floor to $10.10 an hour and connecting the rate to inflation would increase the purchasing power of one million Pennsylvania workers and boost the state's

struggling economy.

The state minimum wage and the tipping minimum wage

The minimum wage has remained stagnant at $7.25 an hour since

2009.

The minimum wage for tipped workers is only $2.83 an hour.

Neither wage rises with inflation, meaning the purchasing power of

workers is decreasing.

After adjusting for the change in prices, the minimum wage is worth less today than in 1968.

This decline is not due to economic necessity. Since 1968, the U.S. economy has expanded greatly and our ability to produce goods and services for the same amount of work has

doubled.

However, the purchasing power of the minimum wage declined by 24% in the last 46 years.

The minimum wage would be $10.65 if it has risen at the same wage rate as the typical

American worker and it would be $18.30 if the wage had grown with productivity.

Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour helps more than one million workers in Pennsylvania1

The vast majority (87%) of people who would see their wages go up are adults in their prime working years, not teenagers, as some have claimed.

Half (50.3%) of workers who will benefit from a minimum wage increase work full time and another third (32%) work more than 20 hours per week.

Eliminating the tipped minimum wage is critical The tipped minimum wage at $2.83 has not changed since 1998.

1 Unless otherwise noted the demographics of the workers affected by a minimum wage increase were drawn from David Cooper, Raising The Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Lift Wages for Millions and Provide A Modest Economic Boost, Economic Policy Institute, Briefing Paper #371, December 2013, available at http://s2.epi.org/files/2013/minimum-wage-state-tables.pdf. 

When tips fall short, low-wage workers, who are predominantly women, have unstable incomes that fall short of minimum wage.

Tipped workers earn more in states with a higher tipped minimum wage and the gap in earnings between tipped workers and workers overall is smaller the higher the tipped minimum wage is in a state. In other words, a good way to reduce inequality in a state is to raise the tipped minimum wage.

Working families benefit from a $10.10 an hour minimum wage The earnings of minimum wage workers are crucial to their families' well-being. Nearly a

quarter (23.4%) of the workers benefiting from raising the minimum wage are parents with children.

The average parent working minimum wage earns over half of their family’s income. Nearly one in five children (19.5%) have a parent who would be helped by raising the

minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

Raising the minimum wage will help close the wage gap for women Nationwide women earn only 77% of what their male counterparts make – leaving a wage

gap of 23 cents on the dollar. The majority (58.6%) of workers getting a raise from a $10.10 minimum wage are women. Women make up over three-quarters of the tipped workforce. Raising the minimum wage is an important step towards fair pay for women – especially

women of color.

Pennsylvania workers are falling behind those in the majority of states Already 29 states, including all of the states bordering Pennsylvania, have a higher

minimum wage than Pennsylvania. Momentum is building in states across the county to raise the minimum wage. In 2014, state

legislatures voted to raise the minimum wage in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. enacted increases.

The voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota approved minimum wage increases through ballot measures in the 2014 general election.

Minimum wages went up in nine states on Jan. 1, 2015 due to indexed increases in state law: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington.

The majority of Pennsylvania workers who would see their incomes rise are white (74%), along with 36.4% of Latino workers, 32.3% of African American workers would benefit and 29.6% of Asian workers.

Increasing the minimum wage will boost the state's economy. Pennsylvania’s economy needs a boost. Job growth has been weak since 2010 and the

state ranked 50th in the nation over the last four years. Slow job growth holds down wages for all of us.

One way to get the economy going again is to put more money in the hands of the lowest-paid workers. With more income, workers here will do things like have their car repaired at the local service station or make a long-delayed trip to the dentist.

Raising the minimum wage is a modest but important step towards creating an economy powered by good jobs.

Week of Action for a Fair Minimum Wage

Week of March 13, 2016 The Pennsylvania Legislature has not even voted on the minimum wage for

10 years. Every state surrounding PA has raised their minimum wage.

The minimum wage for tipped worker is only $2.83 and hasn’t been raised for 17 years. Republican leadership refuses to allow a vote on the minimum wage, despite over 2/3s

of PA citizens supporting a $10/hour minimum, including 53% of Republicans. Support over 1.2 million PA workers who would get a raise if the minimum wage went

to $10.10/hr. Over 2 million would get a raise at $15/hr. A minimum wage of $10.10 would generate increased economic activity and $225

million for the state budget to help with schools and the deficit. Contact Raise the Wage PA, a state wide coalition of over 60 organizations, at 215-557-

0822 to find an action in your community.

It’s Time for a Raise for Pennsylvania’s Working Poor!

Raise the Wage PA 112 N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-557-0822 www.RaisetheWagePA.org,

Scripture from the Bible, Torah and Koran on wage justiceColossians 4:1 ESV / 8 helpful votes Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

James 5:4 ESV / 7 helpful votes Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Ephesians 6:9 ESV / 7 helpful votes Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

1 Timothy 5:18 ESV / 5 helpful votes For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

Luke 10:7 ESV / 5 helpful votes And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Leviticus 19:13 ESV / 5 helpful votes “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

Ephesians 6:5-8 ESV / 4 helpful votes Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Malachi 3:5 ESV / 4 helpful votes “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Leviticus 25:43 ESV / 4 helpful votes You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.

Genesis 2:15 ESV / 4 helpful votes The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

1 Timothy 5:17-18 ESV / 3 helpful votes Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

Colossians 3:22-25 ESV / 3 helpful votes Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

1 Corinthians 9:14 ESV / 3 helpful votes In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

Luke 6:38 ESV / 3 helpful votes Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Matthew 20:1-16 ESV / 3 helpful votes “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ...

Matthew 6:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

1 John 1:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 Peter 2:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

1 Peter 2:18-21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:1-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ...

James 5:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

James 1:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Hebrews 4:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 1:3 ESV / 2 helpful votes He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

1 Timothy 6:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

1 Timothy 6:1-21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Let all who are under a yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ...

1 Timothy 5:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Colossians 3:22-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

Colossians 3:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Philippians 4:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Ephesians 4:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV / 2 helpful votes For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Corinthians 16:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 9:13-14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

Romans 12:20-21 ESV / 2 helpful votes To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Acts 20:35 ESV / 2 helpful votes In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 2:44-45 ESV / 2 helpful votes And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

Luke 12:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

Luke 12:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 11:42 ESV / 2 helpful votes “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Matthew 25:31-46 ESV / 2 helpful votes “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ...

Matthew 19:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Matthew 18:1-35 ESV / 2 helpful votes At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ...

Matthew 5:44 ESV / 2 helpful votes But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:42 ESV / 2 helpful votes Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Matthew 5:27-28 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:10-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Malachi 3:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Jeremiah 22:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages,

Proverbs 28:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Proverbs 28:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

Proverbs 22:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 22:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

Proverbs 22:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Proverbs 19:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 13:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.

Proverbs 13:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Proverbs 12:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Proverbs 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.

Proverbs 10:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 1:1-33 ESV / 2 helpful votes The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, ...

Psalm 2:1-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORDand against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ...

Psalm 1:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does,

he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ...

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 ESV / 2 helpful votes “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 15:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you,

Deuteronomy 15:13-14 ESV / 2 helpful votes And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

Numbers 18:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting,

Leviticus 25:41 ESV / 2 helpful votes Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.

Leviticus 25:39 ESV / 2 helpful votes “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:

Leviticus 19:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.

Exodus 22:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his

possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard. ...

Exodus 20:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes “You shall not murder.

Genesis 31:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes You know that I have served your father with all my strength,

Genesis 31:1-55 ESV / 2 helpful votes Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. ...

Genesis 29:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.”

Genesis 23:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”

Genesis 23:1-20 ESV / 2 helpful votes Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” The Hittites answered Abraham, ...

Genesis 3:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Genesis 3:1-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not HelpfulNow the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ...

Genesis 2:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Information from Interfaith Workers Justice on Islam and wages. Living Wages

The Qu’ran and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)“And O my people! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are

their due” (Quran 11:85). Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, also said,

“I will be the opponent of three types of people on the Day of Judgment,” and he listed one of them

as “one who hires a worker, but does not pay him his right wages owed to him after fulfilling his

work.” (Bukhari collection, prepared by Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Council on

American-Islamic Relations.)

Fatawa: Rights of Workers in Islam“Proper and timely wages. Workers should be given proper and just wages. Exploitation of any

person is not allowed in Islam. Allah says [ To the Madyan people We sent Shu`aib, one of their own

brethren. He said: "O my people, worship Allah; you have no other god but Him. Now has come unto

you a Clear (Sign) from your Lord. Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the

things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be

best for you, if you have Faith] (Al-A`raf 7:85). Allah warns those who take full measure but give less

to others: [ Woe to those that deal in fraud. Those who, when they have to receive by measure from

men, exact full measure. But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than

due. Do they not think that they will be called to account? On a Mighty Day. A Day when (all)

mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds] (Al-Mutaffifin 83:1-6). Workers should also be paid

on time. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Give to the worker his

wages before his sweat dries" (Ibn Majah).”

More at: http://58.26.99.53/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9846

  (Al-A`raf 7:85), (Al-Mutaffifin 83:1-6) and (Ibn Majah).