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The federal minimum wage will increase by 70 cents on July 24, 2009 from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. The increase is the third increase mandated by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.

Under Texas law, the state minimum wage must be at least as high as the federal minimum, which means that when the federal minimum wage increases, the Texas minimum increases, too.

Therefore, on July 24, 2009, when the federal minimum increases to $7.25 per hour, the Texas state minimum will also increase to $7.25 per hour. Texas is one of 12 states, including Maryland, Idaho, North Dakota and Virginia, which ties its minimum to the federal minimum wage.

The US Department of Labor reports that the Texas minimum wage statute doesn’t even state a dollar amount, simply that the state adopts the federal rate.

Under Texas minimum wage law, any employee covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is excluded from Texas minimum wage. The FLSA is the main federal minimum wage law and covers employers that engage in interstate commerce and those with annual earnings of $500,000 or more.

An article in Texas Business Today (more…)