labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Wisconsin minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal minimum wage.

In 2006, both the federal and Wisconsin minimum wages were $5.15 per hour. At that point, the federal minimum wage had less purchasing power than the $1.60 per hour minimum in the 1960s. To address this issue, the Fair Minimum Wage Act or FMWA was enacted in 2007. The FMWA set forth a series of three increases to the federal minimum wage, beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009.

The third and last increase occurred on July 24, 2009 and bumped the federal minimum from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This increase will have an effect on most employers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is one of 28 states that currently have a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum wage. Those states include Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York and Utah.

By contrast, there are 5 states with no minimum wage at all. Those states are Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina and Alabama. Kansas has the dubious distinction of being the state with the lowest minimum wage, at $2.65 per hour.

Employees in Wisconsin are entitled to the Wisconsin minimum wage unless they are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).

The FLSA is the relevant law for the federal minimum wage and applies to companies earning at least $500,000 per year, and to employers and individual employees engaged in interstate commerce.

Interstate commerce is defined as doing business with other states, such as manufacturing goods for sale out-of state, buying goods from out-of state, and answering phone calls from out-of-state vendors. In addition a company that uses the Internet or accepts credit card or debit card for payments is considered to be engaged in interstate commerce.

It is rare to find a business that does not engage in interstate commerce, therefore, most of the employers in all states need to pay their employees the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

In a business that does not engage in interstate commerce, it is possible (more…)

The Wisconsin minimum wage will increase 75 cents, from $6.50 to $7.25 per hour, on July 24, 2009.

Wisconsin employers must prominently display new federal and Wisconsin minimum wage posters or face stiff penalties.

The new Wisconsin minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage, which will increase by 70 cents to $7.25 on that date. By state statute, the Wisconsin minimum wage cannot be lower than the federal minimum wage.

The new Wisconsin minimum wage for minors is the same as for adults — $7.25 per hour. The change in the federal minimum wage effectively eliminates the state’s lower minimum wage for minors, which is $5.90 per hour prior to July 24, 2009.

However, the Wisconsin minimum wage contains a number of exceptions. First, the tipped minimum wage for Wisconsin employees remains at $2.33 per hour. Tipped employees who are not yet 20 years old and have been employed for 90 or fewer days may be paid $2.13 per hour. (more…)