labor lawAdivision of labor law center

On January 1, 2008, Missouri, along with over a dozen other states, increased its state minimum wage. Missouri’s minimum wage jumped 15 cents per hour from $6.50 to $6.65.

Missouri state statute, Section 290.502.2, mandates that the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations adjust the state minimum wage according to the change in the cost of living. Published by the Department of Labor, the CPI (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers) serves as the basis for calculating the new rate. Note that Missouri is one of the few states that allow the minimum wage to go down. If the cost of living goes down, the state minimum wage goes down, too.

Retail or services businesses with annual earnings of less than $500,000 are exempt from the Missouri state minimum wage law. For companies that deal in interstate commerce, the workers are covered by the federal minimum wage law.

Belo plans, which pay workers a set amount per week no matter the number of hours worked, are not allowed in Missouri. Belo plans, also known as the fluctuating work week, are normally used in businesses where hours vary by the season. Golf courses and ski resorts are examples of industries that use Belo plans. Though Belo plans a legal under federal law and legal in most states, they are not legal in Missouri.

The majority of  states in the country have enacted state minimum wage laws. If an employee qualifies for both the federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour, and the state minimum wage, the worker receives whichever provides the greater benefit. In Missouri, these employees would receive the higher Missouri state minimum wage of $6.65 per hour.

In all, fourteen states increased the minimum wage with the new year.

Employees in Missouri are entitled by state law to be paid overtime for any time worked over 40 hours in one week. Though mandated by law, the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has no branch to enforce payment of overtime. If the employee isn’t receiving overtime pay, he or she must file suit against the employer.

California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and eleven other states increased their state minimum wage on January 1, 2008, but more wage increases are slated for 2008.

On July 1, 2008, five states will raise their minimum wage rates. Michigan’s minimum will jump 25 cents from $7.15 to $7.40 per hour. Illinois will see a 25 cent rise as well, from $7.50 per hour to $7.75 per hour.

West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania will see substantial increases in their state minimum wages on July 1, 2008, too. Pennsylvania’s minimum will rise 90 cents from $6.25 per hour to $7.15 per hour. Both Kentucky and West Virginia will establish minimum wage raises of 70 cents. West Virginia’s rate will go from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Kentucky’s minimum will rise from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour.

Kentucky’s rise mirrors the federal minimum wage rate which will go from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.

The year 2007 saw the first federal minimum wage increase in more than a decade under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.

On July 24, 2008, the second step of the Act’s system will go into effect and the federal minimum wage will increase from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour.

A number of states, such as Maryland, Indiana and Virginia, will increase their state minimum wage rates on the same day the federal minimum increase goes into effect. These states either mirror the federal rate, or tie their increases to timing of the raises for the federal minimum.

The District of Columbia ties its minimum wage to the federal wage, too, but with a difference. In D.C., the minimum wage is required to be at least $1.00 per hour greater than the federal minimum. On July 24, 2008, then, D.C.’s minimum will jump to $7.55 per hour.

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