labor lawAdivision of labor law center

 According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, the state of Ohio increased its minimum wage as of January 1, 2009.

The Ohio minimum wage, which tracks the cost of living, went up by 30 cents an hour. The old rate was $7.00 per hour and the new rate is $7.30.

The increase in Ohio is not the largest increase in the minimum wage nationwide. In Washington, the increase was 48 cents an hour – to $8.55 hourly from $8.07. Oregon experienced a 45-cent hike, bringing its rate to $8.40 hourly. Connecticut’s rate also went up by 45 cents an hour. The new Connecticut minimum is now $8.00 an hour.

Altogether, 11 states increased their minimum wage rates as of January 1, 2009.

The largest actual minimum wage increase was in New Mexico. Under a new law passed by voters in 2006, the rate went up $1.00 an hour, from $6.50 to $7.50. New Mexico’s increase was not based on the cost of living, however.

In November of 2006, voters in Ohio approved a constitutional amendment mandating that the minimum wage track the inflation rate annual. The state uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for a 12-month period that ends each August.

Because the CPI climbed 4.6% between September 1, 2007 and August 21, 2008, Ohio’s minimum wage also showed an atypically large jump, as did the wage rates in several other states as well.

This January 1 the minimum wage for Ohio workers receiving tips also went up. The new rate is $3.65 hourly, an increase of 15 cents. If a tipped employee in Ohio does not earn an average of $3.65 an hour in tips, then the management is required to make up the difference.

Ohio law has an exception whereby smaller companies may pay their workers less than larger companies do. If revenue is below $267,000 in 2009, the company is allowed to pay $6.55 an hour. However, that will only be the case until July 24, 2009, when the new federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour overrides lower rates.

New Mexico’s minimum wage hike for 2009 was the largest single increase in any state for January, 2009.

According to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, the New Mexico minimum wage increased  $1.00 an hour on January 1, 2009, from $6.50 an hour to $7.50 an hour. Minimum wage for overtime for most employees will be $11.25 an hour.

The New Mexico law has its share of exceptions. For example, seasonal employees in some counties are not under the protection of the minimum wage laws, nor are employees of cotton gins. Typically, both the overtime and the minimum wage laws are not applicable to genuine executives, administrators, professionals, supervisors, and superintendents.

Any employer who has not updated his or her New Mexico minimum wage poster should do so now.

Certain workers who are hired to perform investigative work for the federal government are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, otherwise known as the FLSA. State law exempts them from the overtime law, which requires that employees working more than 40 hours a week must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate for their overtime. Nevertheless, they are still entitled to the federal minimum wage, at the least.

The minimum wage in New Mexico, incidentally, does not cover those workers under 18 who have not graduated from high school. It is a seldom-utilized and little-known aspect of New Mexico labor law.

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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, an amendment to the FLSA or federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act, also known as HB 12, would amend provisions of the FLSA to revise remedies and improve enforcement efforts for preventing wage discrimination based on an employee’s gender.

This act is likely to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Barack Obama. If it does, employers may face many more lawsuits for discrimination based on gender.

Every employer should have a clear written policy prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, including gender discrimination and wage discrimination.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was passed to provide regulator support for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

The voting was largely along party lines, with many (more…)

Roughly a dozen states in the U.S. base their annual minimum wage rate hikes on regional inflation levels.

The state of Oregon is one of these. Because Oregon’s cost of living increased by a dramatic 5.37% between August 2007 and August 2008, the minimum wage rate also increased significantly.

The minimum wage went up 45 cents an hour on January 1, 2009, from $7.95 to $8.40 hourly. The increase is one of the largest such hikes in recent years, and results from the inflation rate.

“This increase is the direct result of the rapidly rising cost of living facing Oregon workers,” said Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. The Commissioner added, “By helping workers and their families preserve their purchasing power in difficult times, our strong minimum wage law also benefits our local economies, where workers spend most of their paychecks.”

Some question the wisdom of a large increase during recessionary times. The law, however, was (more…)

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In doing so, the House Democrats acted quickly to fulfill a 2008 campaign promise.

The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, also known as HB 11, will overturn a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that employees have only 6 months to file a claim for pay discrimination against an employer.

The law is named after Lilly Ledbetter, an Alabama woman who was paid less than her male colleagues for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, for more than 20 years. The Supreme Court ruled that since Ledbetter did not file a complaint during the first 6 months she was employed, the discrimination was legal. This was true, although Ledbetter had no reason to believe for several years that she was the target of discrimination.

Votes for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act were split according to party lines, with the overwhelming majority of Republicans voting against the bill. Republican business leaders say that the measure will increase the number of employment and pay discrimination claims against employers. They point out that even when such a claim is unfounded, it is expensive for an employer to fight the claim in court. Winning can carry a high price tag, including attorney’s fees in excess of $100,000. 

Many Democrats supported the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Many pointed out that the law will help eliminate discrimination in pay based on gender, race, color, national ancestry, age, etc. Proponents point out that women still earn only 78% of the wages earned by men holding the same jobs.

This law makes it even more crucial that every employer have an anti-discrimination policy and training in place. Employers should also review wages to ensure that they can be justified by objective criteria such as the employee’s qualifications and performance evaluations.

A similar bill passed the House in July 2007, but faced still opposition by Republicans in the Senate. Then-president George W. Bush also vowed to veto the bill, if it was passed by the Senate.

President Obama has said repeatedly that he supports the measures, and vowed to sign it if passed. With Democrats now holding 57 Senate seats, it seems likely that this bill will be passed and signed into law in 2009.

The AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons supports the bill. Business groups including SHRM, the Society of Human Resource Management and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, oppose the bill. They argue that a strict interpretation of the bill could result in companies being unable to pay different salaries based on geographical area. If an employer paid a manager in New York City more than a manager in Birmingham, Alabama for example, the employer could be sued. Because the cost of living in New York is almost twice that of Birmingham, employers have long had to pay higher salaries in such metro areas to attract equally qualified candidates in both regions.