labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The state of Wyoming’s legislature has closed up shop for the season. The 59th state legislature has ended this session after 37 days in the office, and after passing 511 laws during that time. But their general session ended without a new minimum wage for the cowboy state.

The state had considered other important issues as well, not just the minimum wage, such as abortion, school scholarships, eminent domain, child predator laws, and child care. One such law was the Wyoming Cancer Control Act, which gives money to people who need to get colonoscopies but otherwise could not afford the expense of the medical procedure. Its ultimate goal of course to prevent cancer in the state of Wyoming.

Other passed laws include on that removes the sales tax on groceries, or one that makes sure breastfeeding mothers cannot be charged with indecent exposure in public. Another law makes it legal to have patron-organized gambling or poker in bars and restaurants. Other laws offer protection for consumers against identity theft, and another that will help people get access to mental health care and substance abuse treatment through the state.

But the Wyoming legislature also failed to pass some bills that employers in the state could have cared about, whether or not in a good or bad way. For instance, the state failed to pass a smoking ban for smoking in public places, which according to my sources had some pretty heavy duty public support.

And of course, the main topic of this post—the state legislature in Wyoming did not pass a measure that it had on its table to increase the state minimum wage. What does that mean for employers? Well, if you are a small (under $500,000 per year revenue) and local (no interstate business), you will not have to pay the higher federal minimum wage when and if it becomes law.

Last 10 posts by Mark

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