labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Washington minimum wage increased as of January 1, 2009, and the new rate is the highest in the nation. The new minimum wage rate is also the highest that the state of Washington has experienced since it linked the minimum to the cost of living.

According to the Washington L&I, or Department of Labor and Industries, the Washington minimum wage went up to $8.55 an hour for 2009. Each September, the L&I recalculates the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index, or CPI.

Any employers who have not updated their Washington minimum wage poster should do so ASAP. Employers are subject to sanctions, fines and penalties for not displaying updated posters.

Adjusting the minimum wage to the CPI is a result of an initiative approved by voters 10 years ago, in 1998, called Initiative 688. The state uses the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.

As most readers know, the CPI is a national gauge, marking the cost (more…)

The Washington state minimum wage will increase to $8.55 per hour on January 1, 2009. The state Department of Labor and Industries or L& I recalculates the minimum wage each year in September as required by state Initiative 688, approved by Washington voters in 1998.

The Washington state minimum wage is adjusted each year based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers or CPI-W during the 12 months ending on August 31. The Consumer Price Index is a national measure of the cost of goods and services required for daily life. During the 12-month period ending in August 2008, the CPI increased a whopping 5.9%. For comparison, the increase in the prior year was 1.8%, which led to an increase of 14 cents per hour in the Washington minimum wage.

This 48-cent increase ensures that the Washington minimum wage (more…)

On January 1, 2008, Washington increased its minimum wage fourteen cents from $7.93 to $8.07 per hour. Washington’s minimum wage is the highest in the United State, and has been for seven consecutive years.

Tied for second place are California and Massachusetts, both with a January 1, 2008, state minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. Oregon raised its minimum, also, to $7.93 per hour.

Initiative 688, enacted in 1998 established an annual cost-of-living increase to Washington’s state minimum wage. The increase is calculated using the federal CPI (Consumer Price Index) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which monitors prices of food, shelter, medical care and wages.

Unlike many other states, Washington’s minimum wage law applies to almost every employer in the state. Exceptions to the law include only non-profit volunteers, newspaper carriers and some agricultural employees. Washington employers can, however, legally pay workers under 16 less than minimum wage. For instance, a 14 year-old worker can be paid $6.86 per hour in 2008, of 85% of the minimum wage.

Washington is also one of the few states that doesn’t allow credit for tips. In Washington, waiters, waitresses and other tipped employees must be paid the state minimum of $8.07 per hour. Washington’s law gives tipped workers the highest minimum wage in the United States.

The federal minimum wage is currently $5.85 per hour. Many states have their own minimum wages laws. If an employee is eligible for both federal and state minimum, that worker is entitled to whichever provides the greater benefit. In Washington, since the state minimum is higher than the federal rate, the employee is entitled to the state minimum wage of $8.07 per hour.

Whenever minimum wage laws change, both state and federal, Washington employers must update their labor law posters. Updated information can be obtained from www.laborlawcenter.com, but an employer can also enlist a labor law poster service. Every times a law changes, this service automatically provides the employer with an updated poster.

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.

The state of Washington has announced that the minimum wage will increase by 14 cents from $7.93 to $8.07 per hour effective on January 1, 2008. This will put the state minimum wage at the highest in the nation, for the seventh consecutive year.

On that same day, both California and Massachusetts will increase the state minimum wage to $8.00 per hour. In Oregon, the state minimum wage will climb to $7.93 per hour.

In Washington, the minimum wage is calculated each year with a cost-of-living increase based on Initiative 688, approved by Washington voters in 1998. The annual increase is based on the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI)  for urban wage earners and clerical workers. The CPI  measures the average change in prices for a fixed group of goods and services including food, shelter, medical care and wages.

The state minimum wage applies to virtually every employer in the state. While many states such as Maryland exempt myriad industries from the state minimum wage, Washington applies the law almost universally. The only exceptions are newspaper carriers, non-profit volunteers and some agricultural workers. 

Under state statute, workers under 16 can be paid less than the minimum wage. Employees who are 14 or 15 years old may be paid 85% of the minimum wage, or $6.86 in 2008.

Washington is one of a handful of U.S. states that permit no tip credit, so tipped employees including waiters and waitresses must be paid at least $8.07 per hour. Without doubt, that is the highest wage for tipped employees in the country.

The federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour. Many states across the country have established their own state minimum wage, and have added a few notable exceptions to the state minimum wage law.

If a company has revenue over $500,000, or engages in interstate commerce, and the state minimum wage is lower than the federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour, the federal minimum wage applies.

On January 1, 2008, the minimum wage in Montana will go up 10 cents an hour from $6.15 to $6.25.That minimum doesn’t apply to all employees, though. Companies in Montana whose revenues are $110,000 or less can legally pay employees just $4.00 per hour.

Minnesota, too, varies the state minimum wage according to size. In larger companies with annual revenues of $625,000 or more, the minimum wage is $6.25 per hour. Smaller companies have a minimum of $5.25.

Young workers also face lower pay in some states, particularly in the first 90 days on the job. Workers under 18 can be paid less, legally, in some states, until they come of age.

In Maryland, the conditions regarding age are broken down even further. The State minimum wage is $6.15 per hour. Part-time employees under the age of 16 or over the age of 61 aren’t protected under the state law. Employment of up to 20 hours per week for younger workers and 25 hours for older ones excludes them from the law. Many businesses, such as amusement parks, restaurants and hotels don’t have to pay overtime, either.

The state minimum wage in Alaska is $7.15 per hour, but by law school bus drivers must receive $14.30 an hour, or twice the minimum.

When an employee is covered by both the federal minimum wage law, and by the state minimum wage law, the law that gives the worker a bigger benefit applies. In Kansas where minimum wage is $2.65 per hour, a worker protected by both laws would receive the federal minimum of $5.85. In Washington, the state minimum is higher, so the state law would apply.

Thousands of workers in Washington may feel they’ve been poorly treated during their employment with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart), but a recent court order backed by the US Department of Labor (DOL) may change that.

Wal-Mart has been cited with failing to comply with federal and Washington state overtime laws.  The retail giant has agreed to make amends by paying more than $33 million for unpaid back wages plus interest.

The Washington overtime law closely parallels similar federal laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  These labor laws require employers to pay an overtime rate of 1.5 times the usual hourly rate paid to an employee for every hour the employee works beyond the full-time standard of 40 hours per week.

To remain in compliance with federal and Washington overtime laws, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay approximately 86,680 workers in the state who worked at Wal-Mart for the period ranging from February 1, 2002, to January 19, 2007.  According to FLSA regulations, Wal-Mart computed overtime rates for these employees incorrectly.

Wal-Mart paid its workers overtime rates based upon their average hourly wage rate and failed to include premium payments, such as incentive bonuses.  As an example, a worker earning a standard hourly wage of $6.00 who received incentives and other premium payments that regularly brings the hourly rate to $7.00 per hour is entitled by law to earn overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times the $7.00 per hour rate.  During the time in violation, Wal-Mart based the overtime rate for this employee at $6.00 per hour instead of the correct $7.00 per hour.

Wal-Mart is required to pay back wages on the unpaid overtime plus interest as an effort to deter the nation’s largest retailer from future violations of these state and federal laws.  According to Victoria A. Lipnic, DOL’s Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment Standards, “This settlement provides $33 million in back wages, plus interest, to Wal-Mart workers, and the company has taken corrective action to prevent this from happening again.”