labor lawAdivision of labor law center

July 2009 is an important month for employees and employers alike in South Dakota.

On July 24, 2009, the South Dakota minimum wage will increase from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. When the federal minimum increases, over a dozen states will increase their minimum wage to match the federal.

The South Dakota minimum wage increase mirrors the federal minimum wage increase.

The majority of the employers in the United States are covered by the federal minimum wage law, the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act. That law covers employers who earn $500,000 or more annually, and companies that engage in interstate commerce.

The law also applies to individual employees who engage in interstate commerce. For example, a receptionist who answers out-of-state phone calls is considered to be engaged in interstate commerce and would be covered by the federal minimum wage. (more…)

Employers have already been warned that the state minimum wage will increase with the new year in Oregon, Washington, Florida, New Mexico, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Connecticut.

However, employers in other states also have to contend with minimum wage increases this year.

Even if an employer has no minimum wage employees, each increase means the employer must update his or her minimum wage posters. By law, employers are required to display a variety of labor law posters prominently in the workplace. Failure to do so can result in fines, penalties and citations.

On July 1, 2009 the Illinois minimum wage will increase by 50 cents, from $7.50 to $8.00 per hour. This is the final step in a 3-tiered increase introduced by the now-infamous (more…)

The minimum wage in South Dakota is now $6.55 per hour. On July 24, 2008 when the federal minimum wage increased from $5.85 per hour. Under state law, the South Dakota minimum wage also increases to reflect the change in the federal minimum wage.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. However, the increase didn’t go into effect all at once. Under the federal law, the minimum wage increases in three 70 cent steps. The first step went into effect 60 days after the President signed the bill into law, on July 24, 2007. The other two increases occur on the same dates in 2008 and 2009.

The next scheduled increase in the South Dakota minimum wage (more…)

Effective July 24, 2008 the federal minimum wage increases 70 cents from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour.

This move will also increase the minimum wage in 10 states, where the state adopts the federal minimum wage automatically. Those states include: (more…)