Effective January 1, 2011 seven states will the minimum wage: , , , Oregon, , and Colorado.

 

New 2011 minimum wages for the states are: 

  • Arizona $7.35
  • Colorado $7.36
  • Montana $7.35
  • Ohio $7.40
  • Oregon $8.50
  • Vermont $8.15
  • Washington $8.67 

Florida and , which usually update the annually, will not have any increases. The Florida remains at $7.25 per hour, with tipped employees entitled to $4.23 per hour. In Missouri, the is also $7.25 per hour, while a tipped employee can be paid just $3.64 per hour.

 

Every employer should prominently display updated minimum wage and employment law posters in the workplace, in a location where they can be seen by all employees.

 

Washington’s minimum wage is the highest in 2011, while Oregon is in second place. The minimum wages in Connecticut, and Nevada are tied for third place at $8.25 per hour. However, Nevada employers who offer affordable group health insurance can pay just $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal minimum wage.

 

The Vermont minimum wage will be sixth highest in 2011 at $8.15 per hour. Massachusetts and California are tied for seventh place at $8.00 per hour. The minimum wage in Alaska is $7.75 while Maine and New Mexico require that employees be paid at least $7.50 per hour. The minimum wage rounds out the top dozen at $7.40 per hour.

 

In total, 14 states have minimum wages higher than the federal rate of $7.25 per hour, while 26 states have minimum wages the same as the federal minimum wage. Five states have lower minimum wages, while another five have no state minimum wage at all.

 

The minimum wage for tipped employees in the same states will also change. The 2011 rates for tipped employees are:  (more…)

Vermont Minimum Wage Increases to $8.15 in 2011

November 26th, 2010 Posted by Derrick

The Vermont minimum wage will from $8.06 to $8.15 per hour on January 1, 2011. The 9 cent per hour is the first since January 1, 2009. This change will require that every employer update his or her labor law posters.

 

The Vermont tipped increases by 5 cents in 2011, from $4.15 to $4.20 per hour. Under the law, employees of a hotel, motel, restaurant or tourist place who regularly earn more than $120 per month in tips can be (more…)

School Visitation Law Update

August 4th, 2010 Posted by Cara

A number of states require the employer to give employees time off  to attend school events such as -teacher conferences and classroom events. This includes California, , , Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, , and — all have school visitation laws.

 

The Colorado Academic Activities Leave Law applies to employers with 50 or more workers. It permits the parent or of a K-12 student to take off 6 hours per month in increments of up to 3 hours each, up to a total of 18 hours per academic year. leave may be substituted for the unpaid school visitation leave, but the law does not apply to supervisory employees.

 

Illinois provides for parents and guardians to take up to 8 hours of unpaid leave

 

California has two separate school visitation laws that prevent the employer from taking any negative action against employees who take unpaid school visitation leave. One law applies to (more…)

2010 Minimum Wage Recap

January 1st, 2010 Posted by Amelia

The good news for employers is that most minimum wages are holding in 2010. In January 2009, more than a dozen states increased their minimum wages. In 2010, only a few minimum wage changes are in effect.

 

The Kansas minimum wage increased from $2.65 to $7.25 on January 1, 2010. This is the first time in more than two decades that the Kansas minimum wage has increased. The change comes after more than a decade of efforts by Kansas Democrats. On December 31, 2009, Kansas had the lowest minimum wage of any state. Effective today, X states have lower minimum wages.

 

To be fair to Kansas, five states have no minimum wage whatsoever. They are Mississippi, Alabama, , Tennessee and South Carolina.

 

In an unprecedented step, the Colorado minimum wage actually decreased by 4 cents from $7.28 per hour to $7.24 per hour today. Most employees in the state are still covered by the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

 

About a dozen states annually increase the minimum wage based on the cost of living. However, in most areas the cost of living has shown a decrease of 1% to 2%. While many state statutes prevent the minimum wage from being reduced, they have not been increased.

 

States that have skipped the annual increase in minimum wage this year include Ohio, , , Vermont, , , and .

 

In Florida, by statute the state minimum wage cannot be (more…)

Vermont Minimum Wage 2010 is $8.06

December 30th, 2009 Posted by Amelia

The Vermont minimum wage in 2010 will remain at the current of $8.06 per hour. This is good news for employers in a where the normally increases every year.

 

Under state law, the Vermont minimum wage increases each year based on the cost of living. According to a press release issued by the Department of Labor, the cost of living fell by 1.5% between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009. Because the state law does not permit a decline in the minimum wage, it will remain at the current level until 2011.

 

The adjustment in the is based on the Consumer Price Index or CPI. The each year is limited to a maximum of 5%.

 

“A minimum wage reflects our economic times, “ according to Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden. “The cost of living has fallen and the ability of employers to increase pay is limited by the recession.”

 

The Vermont minimum wage for tipped employees will also remain stable at $3.91 per hour for employees who earn at least $120 per month in tips for direct, personal service. However, those employees are still entitled to the minimum wage of $8.06 when tips and (more…)