Raising minimum wage would have health benefits, evidence suggests
Low wages should be recognized as an occupational health threat, according to an editorial in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
"Workers earning low wages may be at greater risk for disease and injury than workers earning high wages," write J. Paul Leigh, PhD, and Roberto De Vogli, PhD, MPH, of University of California Davis School of Medicine. They believe that low wages should be considered among the psychosocial factors — such as long work hours and high job strain — identified as occupational risks to health.