contract. A compensation given to a hired person for his or her services.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
The compensation agreed upon by a master to be paid to a servant or any other person hired to do work or business for him. In maritime law. The compensation al-lowed to seamen for their services on board a vessel during a voyage. In political economy. The reward paid, whether in money or goods, to human exer-tion, considered as a factor in the production of wealth, for its cooperation in the process. Three factors contribute to the production of commodities, nature, labor, and capital. Each must have a share of the product as its reward, and this share, if it is just, must be proportionate to the several contributions. The share of the natural agents is rent: the share of labor, wages; the share of capital, interest. The clerk receives a salary; the lawyer and doctor, fees; the manufacturer, profits. Salary, fees, and profits are so many forms of wages for services rendered.” De Laveleye, Pol. Econ. Wage earner. One who earns his living by labor of a menial or mechanical kind or per-formed in a subordinate capacity, such as domestic servants, mechanics, farm hands, clerks, porters, and messengers. In the United States bankruptcy act of 1898, an individual who works for wages, salary, or hire, at a compensation not exceeding $1,500 per year.