labor lawAdivision of labor law center

With the most recent hike in the federal minimum wage from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, there are now 28 states with the same minimum wage. All of these states share the $7.25 minimum wage rate:  Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Some of these states, like Hawaii and Kentucky, had already implemented a minimum wage of $7.25. Others, such as Texas, Utah, Maryland and Indiana, adopt the federal minimum wage automatically. In some of those states, the July 2009 increase was relatively minor. The Florida minimum wage, for example, increased from $7.21 to $7.25 per hour while New York and New Jersey increased from $7.15 to $7.25 per hour.

Even such insignificant increases require employers to update their federal and state minimum wage posters, of course.

Four states have minimum wages lower than the federal rate. Kansas has the dubious honor of being the state with the lowest minimum wage at $2.65 per hour – although that rate will change later this year. The others are:

Arkansas                   $6.25

Minnesota                 $6.15

Wyoming                   $5.15

However, those states do not offer the lowest wages. Five states have never passed a minimum wage law: South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee. In those states, wages are a private matter between the employer and the employee. Unless the employee is covered by the federal minimum wage law (and most are), the employer can pay any hourly wage he or she likes.

Thirteen states plus the District of Columbia have minimum wages that are higher than the federal rate. The are, in alphabetical order:

California                              $8.00

Colorado                               $7.28

Connecticut                          $8.00

District of Columbia             $8.25

Illinois                                    $8.00

Massachusetts                     $8.00

Michigan                               $7.40

Nevada                                  $7.55

New Mexico                          $7.50 

Ohio                                       $7.30

Oregon                                  $8.40

Rhode Island                        $7.40

Vermont                                $8.06

Washington                          $8.55 

The highest state minimum wage is in Washington, at $8.55 per hour. Oregon is second at $8.40 per hour while Vermont is third with a minimum wage of $8.06 per hour. Those states are likely to remain in the top 3, since each of them implements an annual cost-of-living increase

Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California are tied in fourth place (more…)

The Wisconsin minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal minimum wage.

In 2006, both the federal and Wisconsin minimum wages were $5.15 per hour. At that point, the federal minimum wage had less purchasing power than the $1.60 per hour minimum in the 1960s. To address this issue, the Fair Minimum Wage Act or FMWA was enacted in 2007. The FMWA set forth a series of three increases to the federal minimum wage, beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009.

The third and last increase occurred on July 24, 2009 and bumped the federal minimum from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This increase will have an effect on most employers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is one of 28 states that currently have a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum wage. Those states include Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York and Utah.

By contrast, there are 5 states with no minimum wage at all. Those states are Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina and Alabama. Kansas has the dubious distinction of being the state with the lowest minimum wage, at $2.65 per hour.

Employees in Wisconsin are entitled to the Wisconsin minimum wage unless they are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).

The FLSA is the relevant law for the federal minimum wage and applies to companies earning at least $500,000 per year, and to employers and individual employees engaged in interstate commerce.

Interstate commerce is defined as doing business with other states, such as manufacturing goods for sale out-of state, buying goods from out-of state, and answering phone calls from out-of-state vendors. In addition a company that uses the Internet or accepts credit card or debit card for payments is considered to be engaged in interstate commerce.

It is rare to find a business that does not engage in interstate commerce, therefore, most of the employers in all states need to pay their employees the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

In a business that does not engage in interstate commerce, it is possible (more…)

Under state law, the Delaware minimum wage increases automatically if the federal minimum wage is higher. On July 24, 2009 when the federal minimum wage increased, the Delaware minimum wage went from $7.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour.

This makes it critical for Delaware employers to display an updated minimum wage poster.

According to the Delaware Department of Labor, many employers in the state are covered by federal minimum wage law. Many employers in Delaware were affected by the July 24, 2009 increase of the federal minimum wage.

The FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is the law relevant to the federal minimum and applies to businesses with annual revenue of $500,000 or more, and to companies and individual employees engaged in interstate commerce.

Interstate commerce includes:

·         Accepting or sorting mail from out-of-state

·         Receiving goods from out-of-state vendors

·         Buying from out-of-state vendors

·         Accepting long-distance phone calls

·         Accepting credit card or debit card payments

·         Accepting out-of-state checks

·         Using the Internet, a website or email

A company that does not buy or sell goods out-of-state can still have several workers who engage in interstate commerce on a regular basis. Consider a small hair salon with annual revenue of less than $500,000. This salon serves local customers and buys its supplies locally. (more…)

The overwhelming majority of Alabama employers were affected by the federal minimum wage increase in July, 2009.

Although there is no Alabama minimum wage, most employers in the state are covered by the federal minimum wage.

On July 24, 2009 the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour.

This is not the first increase for Alabama employers. The federal minimum wage increased from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour in 2007 and from $5.85 to $6.55 in 2008.

At present, the federal minimum wage in not scheduled to increase again in 2010. This could be good new for employers which are facing hard times in the current struggling economy.

Alabama is one of five states that have no minimum wage at the state level. Others include Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee.

In addition, effective July 24, 2009 there are 8 states that have a minimum wage lower than the federal rate. They are Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Alaska and Delaware.

In just two years, Alaska has gone from having one of the highest state minimum wages to having one of the lowest rates.

Seventeen other states increased the state minimum wage to match the federal minimum wage increase on July 24, 2009. They are: Florida, Missouri, Montana, (more…)

The federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009.

Employers should update their federal minimum wage poster. Under the law, an employer who fails to prominently display an updated poster where all employees may see it, can be subject to fines.

This increase affects employers differently, depending upon which state the employer is in. By law, when an employee is covered by both the state and federal minimum wage, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage.

For example, while the new federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, (more…)