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More Minimum Wage Increases in 2008

December 17th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

On the first day of 2008, 14 states will increase their minimum wage. Still, that is just the beginning of minimum wage changes throughout the nation for 2008. States that are slated for an increase on New Year’s Day include:

Delaware
Oregon
Washington
California
Florida
Iowa
New Mexico
Massachusetts
Vermont
Colorado
Arizona
Missouri
Montana
Ohio

However, these 14 changes in the minimum wage are just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of changes for 2008.

Five states will increase the minimum wage by statute on July 1, 2008. In Illinois, the state minimum wage will increase by 25 cents from $7.50 per hour to $7.75 per hour. In Michigan, the minimum wage will also increase by 25 cents, from $7.15 to $7.40 per hour.

The West Virginia minimum wage will increase by 70 cents from $6.55 to $7.25 on July 1, 2008. In Kentucky, the minimum wage will increase by 70 cents, from $5.85 to $6.55. This change mirrors the federal minimum wage increase later in the month, but precedes it by more than 3 weeks.

Minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania will receive a boost when that state’s rate will by 90 cents, from $6.25 to $7.15 per hour.

On July 24, 2008 the federal minimum wage will increase by 70 cents from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. This is the second annual increase in a three-tiered system introduced by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 24, 2006. The minimum wage increase was a cornerstone in the Democrat’s majority win in Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections.

When the federal minimum wage goes up, a number of state rates will automatically increase from $5.85 to $6.55, as well. This includes the minimum wage in Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Indiana, Oklahoma and Virginia. In Ohio, the minimum wage for companies with annual revenue less than $255,000 will increase to $6.55 per hour.

On July 24, the minimum wage in the District of Columbia will increase, as well. Under district law, the minimum wage must be at least $1.00 per hour more than the federal minimum wage. So, the D.C. minimum wage will go to $7.55 per hour.

Every one of these changes will require that employers replace their state or federal minimum wage posters – or both. Complete updated posters are available at www.laborlawcenter.com.

In fact, states that have no minimum wage increase slated for 2008 are in unusual. In Wyoming and Georgia, the state minimum wage is not tied to the federal rate. In those states, the state rate remains at $5.15 per hour, even as the federal minimum wage increases. In Kansas, the state minimum wage remains at $2.65 per hour, as it has for 20 years or more.

Five states in the union have no minimum wage – Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina. In those states, there will be no change in 2008.

On January 1, 2008 the state minimum wage in Delaware will increase by 50 cents, from $6.65 to $7.15 per hour. Both California and Massachusetts will increase the state minimum wage by 50 cents from $7.50 to $8.00 per hour, resulting in a two-way tie for the state with the second-highest minimum wage.

In Oregon, the state minimum wage will increase 15 cents from $7.80 to $7.95. In nearby Washington state, the minimum wage will increase by 12 cents, from $7.95 to $8.07, making it the highest in the nation.

In Florida, the minimum wage will increase by 14 cents from $6.65 to $6.79. This is the state’s first annual cost-of-living increase, under a law passed in 2006.

The Iowa minimum wage will increase by $1.05, from $6.20 to $7.25 while the New Mexico minimum wage goes from $5.15 to $6.50 per hour – an increase of $1.35.

A number of states will implement annual cost-of-living increases. In Vermont, the state rate will increase to $7.68 per hour, while in Colorado the minimum wage goes to $7.02 per hour. The Arizona minimum wage will increase to $6.90 per hour. In Missouri, the state minimum wage will increase by 15 cents from $6.50 to $6.65, while in Ohio the rate goes from $6.85 to $7.00 on January 1.