Enara Law J. Loomis Legal Education Scholarship
- Program Overview: The Enara Law J. Loomis Legal Education Scholarship is awarded to actively enrolled U.S. law students (J.D. candidates)
- Eligibility criteria:
- Applicants must be full-time students enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school with at least 12 hours of coursework program each semester.
- At the time of application, applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.00 or above.
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents by law.
- Scholarship Award: Awards will be given to the top 3 finalists, in an amount of: 1st place: $2,000, 2nd place: $1000, and 3rd place: $500
- Required Documents: To apply, please submit the following documents to Enara Law at [email protected] with the subject "2021 Enara Law Scholarship." The following documents must be submitted in order to be considered:
- A brief description of you and your journey to law school (less than 500 words)
- A one-page essay on this years topic (see topic below)
- Academic Transcript (unofficial is acceptable)
- Finalists will be awarded and announced by August 31, 2021.
2021 Scholarship Topic and Prompt: Federal Livable Wage
Now more than ever, we see the crossroads between small businesses and government regulation of wages. The federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour — is the legal minimum that an employer must pay their workers in the U.S. (with some exceptions, like for tipped positions). A livable wage is the minimum hourly pay needed for an American working 40 hours per week (full time) to afford the basic standard of living in the United States.
The federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009, and more than half the states as it sits today have minimum wages set higher than the federal minimum. Most of the debate around minimum wage focuses on whether it has kept pace with inflation and the rising cost of living. Labor advocates, union groups, and social justice groups largely support raising the federal minimum wage to account for rising living costs. The general consensus is that implementing a higher minimum wage will alleviate homelessness and poverty in the U.S. collectively.
Supporters of the livable federal wage have called for the rate to be raised to $15 per hour over the next five years. Their plan would also increase the base hourly wage for tipped workers (bartenders, waitresses, valet workers, hospitality workers) and workers under the age of 20 and end a crippling wage system that affects workers with severe disabilities.
Adversaries of a higher minimum wage argue that such a pay increase would burden small-business owners with high operating costs, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Others want to do away with the federal rate altogether because of its irrelevance due to the living situations that fluctuate in every state.
As a law firm working with small and medium sized businesses, Enara Law sees the first hand impact such laws and regulations have on business owners, operations, and employees. What is your position on the topic of a Federal Livable Wage? Do the potential benefits outweigh the possible consequences? Please explain your position as it pertains to the intersection of law and realities to small and medium-sized businesses?
If you have any questions, please call Enara Law Office at (602) 687-2010