2008 Hawaii Labor Law Posters

November 23rd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Every employer in Hawaii should take a few minutes to update his or her 2008 Hawaii labor law posters.

The past year has brought myriad changes in labor law throughout the nation. And, more changes are on the way. California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and ten other states will be raising their state minimum wage as of January 1, 2008.

Many of these changes affect labor law posters, which is why it’s important to update the posters at least once per year.

The official list of required 2008 Hawaii labor law posters is:

  • HIOSH Notice
  • Payment of Wages
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Hawaii Minimum Wage
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Hawaii Whistleblower Protection Poster

In addition to the state posters, federal law requires that every employer in the nation display a number of posters. These include:

  • USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
  • Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law
  • Federal Minimum Wage
  • Employee Polygraph Protection Act
  • Family and Medical Leave Act
  • OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

A number of these posters have been updated for 2008.

Many labor law poster changes throughout the nation related to minimum wage increases this year, or next year. West Virginia and Illinois will increase their minimum wages on July 1, 2008. Illinois’s current minimum will jump from $7.50 to $7.75, and West Virginia’s will go up from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.

On July 24, 2008, the new federal minimum wage of $6.55 will be introduced. States like Texas, Nebraska and others that tie their state minimum wage to the federal minimum wage will bump up their state minimum wage.

Several states including Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and others established laws that provide an annual cost-of-living increase for the state minimum wage. States often tie this increase to the Consumer Price Index for urban and clerical workers. Florida just recently passed such a law and will apply their first “cost of living” raise on January 1, 2008, bumping their current wage from $6.65 to $6.79 per hour.

The rank of highest state minimum wage goes to Washington at $8.07 as of January 1, 2008. California and Massachusetts aren’t far behind each with $8.00 per hour. Oregon’s wage ranks in the top five with $7.95 per hour.

There’s not much difference among the state minimum wages in the top five, but the difference across the country is amazing. The state minimum wage in Kansas hasn’t budged since the 1980s, and ranks as the lowest at $2.65.

But Kansas isn’t the real bottom of the range. That honor belongs to Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina, which don’t have a state minimum wage at all. That means an employer not covered by the federal minimum wage can pay–by law–its workers whatever it wants, even as low as 25 cents an hour. Of course, it’s doubtful anyone would take a job at that wage, but the legal capability exists.

One of the major changes during 2007 related to minimum wage. The federal minimum wage, as a result of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, went from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour. Nearly a dozen states increased their minimum wage on the same day.

Also, during the 2007, several other states, including Utah, Washington, Oregon, and West Virginia increased their state minimum wage.

The most common reason for employers to update posters includes statute changes, especially to minimum wage laws. In just the past few months, employers in New Hampshire, Nevada and Maine have updated their labor law posters as the state minimum wages changed. The most recent increase was on October 1, 2007 when the New Hampshire minimum wage increased to $6.50 per hour.

 

Last 10 posts by Amelia

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2008 Arizona Labor Law Posters »
Posted in Compliance Issues, Employer Requirements, Hawaii, Labor Law Posters, Updated Regulations

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