labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Montana minimum wage increased by 35 cents on January 1, 2009, from $6.55 to $6.90 an hour. The effective minimum wage for most Montana employees will increase again on July 24, 2009 when the federal minimum wage goes to $7.25 per hour.

More than 70% of Montana voters backed a hike in the minimum wage, supporting Initiative 151 in 2006. That initiative essentially accounts for the increase in the wage that became effective on January 1, 2009. Each year by September 30, the annual Montana minimum wage increase is announced, based on the CPI for the previous 12 months.

The Montana Department of Labor & Industry is the agency that tracked the outcome of Initiative 151.

On July 24, 2009, workers in Montana will again receive a minimum wage hike, when the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour kicks in. A worker who is covered by both a state and a federal minimum wage must receive the larger benefit. In Montana, (more…)

The Connecticut minimum wage went up from $7.65 an hour to $8.00 an hour on January 1, 2009. That represents a hike of 35 cents per hour.

In Connecticut, the minimum wage is not linked to increases in the cost of living, as it is in some other states. Instead, it is voted as part of state law.

Some of the states where the minimum wage follows the inflation rate are Washington, Oregon, Vermont, and Florida.  By contrast, New Mexico, like Connecticut, increases its minimum wage rate by statute. In New Mexico, the state minimum wage increased from $6.50 to $7.50 an hour on January 1, 2009, a hike of $1 per hour – by far the highest of the new year.

As in many other states, administrative, executive, and professional employees are exempt under the Connecticut state overtime and minimum wage laws. The relevant law in this case is Section 31-60-14,15,16 of the Administrative Regulations.

There is also an exception under the Connecticut minimum wage for minors working in agriculture or government. They are entitled to a reduced minimum wage that amounts to $6.80 per hour. In other words, they are only entitled to 85% of the state’s minimum wage. Minors working (more…)

On January 1, 2009 the Colorado minimum wage increased to $7.28 per hour. The hike from $7.02 hourly represents a 26 cents per hour increase.  The new minimum wage tracks the region’s inflation rate.

According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment , the minimum wage must be annually adjusted for inflation. In the Denver-Boulder-Greeley area of Colorado, the Consumer Price Index (or CPI) showed an increase of 3.7%. As a result, the minimum wage showed a corresponding increase.

Tracking the inflation rate is part of Colorado law. Under Article XVIII, Section 15 of the Colorado Constitution, employers are required to adjust the pay of their minimum-wage employees every year to match the inflation rate. The law was last amended in 2006.

Donald J. Mares, Colorado’s Executive Director of Labor as well as the top officer of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, published the new minimum wage figures recently.

Because the prices of food and other commodities have risen dramatically, (more…)

According to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, employers are required to display state and federal minimum wage posters that are both accurate and up to date, preferably in both English and Spanish.

The Florida minimum wage increased on January 1, 2009 to $7.21 an hour. That is a hike of 42 cents hourly from the 2008 rate of $6.79.

Employers and employees in Florida will also see a federal minimum wage increase in mid-year. On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25 an hour.

Florida was experiencing a seemingly endless economic upturn in 2004. On November 2 of that year, the voters of Florida approved an amendment to the state constitution creating a state minimum wage.

According to law, workers must receive whichever rate, the state or the federal, (more…)

 Missouri state law (Section 290.502.2) requires that the state’s minimum wage must be adjusted every year based on the latest cost of living.

In charge of making that change is the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Director Todd Smith said that in August of 2008, the Department predicted an increase of 40 cents for 2009/

“A review of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July 2008 confirms the Missouri minimum wage rate will increase to $7.05 effective January 1, 2009,” he predicted at the time.

That prediction has become a reality. The Missouri minimum wage, pegged to the cost of living, went up precisely 40 cents on January 1, 2009, increasing from $6.65 to $7.05 an hour. According to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, last year’s increase was a mere 15 cents per hour. The much higher rise in the cost of living has driven the dramatic increase in the Missouri minimum wage rate.

Those businesses that earn less than a half-million dollars annually (more…)