labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Although the federal minimum wage is now $7.25, the Minnesota minimum wage remains at $6.15 per hour.

 

On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This increase was the third and final increase in the federal minimum wage as set forth by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.

 

Employers in Minnesota and throughout the U.S. must take this opportunity to update their labor law posters, both state and federal. They are legally required to display the most recent labor law posters, and in a spot easily accessible to all employees.

 

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is the law which governs the federal minimum wage. FLSA applies to all businesses that earn $500,000 or more per years. Companies who conduct business out of state are also covered by FLSA.

 

FLSA law applies to individuals engaged in interstate commerce, too, even if the business does not. For example a receptionist who answers out-of-state calls or mails packages outside of the state, qualifies under FLSA and would be paid the federal minimum.

 

In Minnesota, if an employee is not covered under the federal minimum wage law, companies are legally allowed to pay that employee $6.15 per hour. This is legal, because the employee is covered under the Minnesota minimum wage law.

 

With the Internet, email and credit cards, though, there are few businesses that don’t engage in interstate commerce, so most employers in Minnesota were affected by the increase in the federal minimum.

 

Many states in America not only have state minimum wage laws, but their minimums exceed the federal minimum. For example, the state minimum in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois is $8.00 per hour. Vermont’s state minimum is $8.06 per hour and Oregon boasts a state minimum wage of $8.40. Washington claims the top honors, though, with a state minimum of $8.55 per hour.

 

Some states tie their state minimum wage to the federal rate. So, when the federal minimum increased to $7.25, the state minimum wage in Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, Arizona, and Maryland increased to $7.25 per hour, too.

 

 

 

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