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2008 Minimum Wage Increases in 14 States

January 1st, 2008 Posted by Amelia

A total of 14 U.S. states increased the minimum wage on January 1, 2008. The minimum wage increased in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

In several states, the increase is an annual cost-of-living adjustment. This includes Arizona, where the state rate went from $6.75 to $6.90 per hour, and Colorado, where the state rate increased by 17 cents from $6.85 to $7.02. Other cost-of-living increases include 15 cent hikes in Missouri, from $6.50 to $6.65 and Ohio, from $6.85 to $7.00, as well as Vermont, where the rate gots from $7.53 to $7.68.

This year marks the first annual cost-of-living increase to the minimum wage in Florida, which was passed by voters in the November 2006 election. There, the state rate will increase from $6.65 to $6.79 per hour.

In other states, the minimum wage will increase by statute. This is true in California and Massachusetts, where the minimum wage in both states will increase from $7.50 per hour to $8.00 per hour. This move will result in the two states being tied for the position of the second-highest minimum wage in the nation. The highest minimum wage in 2008, as in 2007, is in the state of Washington, where the rate will increase from $7.93 to $8.07 per hour.

Under a Delaware statute, the minimum wage will increase from $6.65 to $7.15 on January 1, 2008.

The Oregon minimum wage is currently the second-highest in the nation at $7.80. That will change on New Year’s Day, when the state assumes the fourth-highest position as the minimum wage increases to $7.95 per hour.

The smallest increase of any state is in Montana, where the state minimum wage increases by 10 cents from $6.15 to $6.25.

The two largest increases of 2008 occurred in New Mexico and Iowa. In New Mexico, the minimum wage increased by $1.35, from $5.15 to $6.50 per hour. In Iowa, the increase of $1.05, from $6.20 to $7.25 is the second in less than 9 months. Coupled with the earlier increase, employers in Iowa face a rise of $2.10 in the state minimum wage in less than one year.

This is just the first minimum wage change in Montana, where the state minimum wage is scheduled to increase again on July 24, 2008. On that date, the state rate will keep pace with the federal minimum wage and increase to $6.55 per hour.

The federal minimum wage was increased for the first time in more than a decade on July 24, 2007. The rate went up 70 cents, from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour. Under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage will increase again on July 24, 2009, to $7.25 per hour.

A number of states, including Montana, have statutes that require the state minimum wage to keep pace with the federal rate. These include Utah, Texas and Virginia, among others. In those states, the state minimum wage increases each time there is a hike in the federal minimum wage.

Each of these changes will require employers in the state to display new 2008 labor law posters. Employers who are not sure how their labor law posters have changed can get up-to-date information on all 50 states at www.laborlawcenter.com.

Employers who fail to update their 2008 labor law posters can be fined for the violations. By law, every employer must prominently display the posters in an area where they can be seen by all employees. Locations near the time clock or in the break room are popular.