labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit on September 25, 2008 against Houston-based CEMEX Inc. for overtime violations. The suit maintains that the company failed to pay $5 million in overtime to more than 2,000 drivers from eight states. The employees were drivers of ready-mix concrete trucks.

CEMEX, founded in Mexico in 1906, provides cement and other building supplies for the construction industry. The company’s website claims it employers more than 60,000 employees in 50 countries on 5 continents.

Affected employees of CEMEX worked in Texas, (more…)

On July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour. Like the minimum wage in several other states, the Utah minimum wage also increased to $6.55 per hour.

Unlike the other states, such as Oklahoma, Maryland and South Dakota, Utah doesn’t automatically add the increase to its state minimum wage. The Utah Labor Commission must (more…)

The minimum wage in the District of Columbia will climb 55 cents, from $7.00 to $7.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.

That’s because D.C. law requires that the minimum wage be $1 per hour more than the federal minimum wage. When the federal minimum wage increases from $5.85 to $6.55 in July, it will spark an increase in the D.C. minimum wage.

Up to a dozen states will increase the minimum wage to the same level as the federal minimum wage, including Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and North Dakota. The increase in the District of Columbia is the highest, however.

This increase is somewhat controversial (more…)

The Texas minimum wage will increase from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008. This 70-cent increase mirrors the increase in the federal minimum wage under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1007 on the same day. Under that bill, the federal minimum wage is scheduled to increase a total of 3 times between 2007 and 2009. Each increase is 70 cents. This brings the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour.

According to the US Department of Labor, the Texas minimum wage (more…)

On July 24, 2008 the North Carolina minimum wage will increase 40 cents from $6.15 per hour to $6.55 per hour when the federal minimum wage increases. On that date, the federal minimum wage will increase 70 cents,  from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour.

That’s because North Carolina is one of a host of states that ties the state minimum wage to the federal rate. In 2007, the North Carolina minimum wage was $6.15 per hour. However, under state law, if the federal minimum wage is higher, the North Carolina minimum wage automatically increases, as well.

On the same day, (more…)