labor lawAdivision of labor law center

As you already know if you’re a regular reader of this blog, the Delaware minimum wage increased on January 1, 2007. The rate went from $6.15 per hour to $6.65 per hour.

The change to the Delaware minimum wage was based on 2006 legislation signed into law by Governor Ruth Ann Minner. It was an increase of 50 cents per hour for each minimum wage worker. Under the same legislation, the minimum wage will increase yet again on January 1, 2008. At that time, there will be an additional increase of 50 cents, to $7.15 per hour.

How does the current Delaware minimum wage of $6.65 per hour stack up against other states? Overall, the current Delaware minimum wage would receive a grade of 70%, if minimum wages were graded on a curve, or a grade of C on our minimum wage report card.

There are a total of 32 states with minimum wages lower than that in Delaware. First of all, 5 states in the southeast have no minimum wage whatsoever. These include Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Of states with minimum wage laws, Kansas is the lowest at just $2.65 per hour.

A cluster of 15 states has a minimum wage that is the same as the current federal minimum wage at $5.15 per hour. In a number of these, by statute, if the federal minimum wage rises, the state minimum wage will as well. That would lower Delaware’s score on our minimum wage report card. Anyway, these 15 states include North Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and New Hampshire.

A total of 29 states including Delaware have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum rate of $5.15. Of these 29 states, 11 have minimum wages lower than Delaware, ranging from $5.85 per hour in West Virginia to $6.50 per hour in Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. In the interest of fairness, I should note that both West Virginia and Illinois have minimum wage increases of as much as $1.00 per hour scheduled for later in the year.

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1. Posted by: Delaware Minimum Wage Increases to $7.15 January 1, 2008 - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] The first step of the increase went into effect on January 1, 2007 when the state minimum wage rose by 50 cents to $6.65 per hour. This is the second and final tier in that increase. [...]

2. Posted by: Delaware Minimum Wage Now $7.15 - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] On January 1, 2007, the first step of the increase went into effect, raising the minimum a full 50 cents from $6.15 to $6.65 per her hour. The second and final step of that increase took effect on January 1, 2008 and raised the minimum from $.6.65 per hour to $7.15 per hour. [...]