E-Alerts
Eight States Have Raised The Minimum-Wage: Be Sure The New Posters Are Up!
[January 19, 2012] In the eight states where the minimum wage has increased, employers should be sure that they are paying at least the minimum wage, and that they have the requisite new posters up in the workplace.
For starters, the minimum-wage rates in the following eight states have increased as of January 1, 2012:
- Arizona (from $7.35 to $7.65 per hour);
- Colorado (from $7.36 to $7.64 per hour);
- Florida (from $7.31 to $7.67 per hour);
- Montana (from $7.35 to $7.65 per hour);
- Ohio (from $7.40 to $7.70 per hour);
- Oregon (from $8.50 to $8.80 per hour);
- Vermont (from $8.15 to $8.46 per hour); and
- Washington (from $8.67 to $9.04 per hour).
These states adjust their minimum-wage rates annually, based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.
The federal and Massachusetts minimum-wage rates remain unchanged, at $7.25 and $8.00 per hour, respectively. Generally, employers in all states must pay all nonexempt employees the greater of the federal or the applicable state minimum wage.
While the above increases cover most employees, some of these eight states permit lower hourly wage rates for certain categories of employees, such as tipped employees and minors. Employers should consult with counsel to determine if any such exceptions apply, as wage violations often carry heavy penalties and are frequently litigated.
As a result of these minimum-wage increases, we recommend that employers take the following measures:
- Update their payroll practices t implement any pay increases that may be necessitated by the increased minimum-wage rates in these eight states.
- Ensure that all required workplace posters concerning minimum wages and other employment matters are displayed in the appropriate locations. All of the states that have increased their minimum-wage rates as of January 1 have made the appropriate posters available online. These posters can be accessed through the following links:
(Note: if your firewall or other email filtering devices have “scrubbed” the links from the foregoing list, please feel free to contact us, and we can re-send the links in another format, and/or send along a PDF of the relevant poster(s).)
- Carefully review all written job descriptions to ensure that employees are appropriately classified as exempt or nonexempt.
- Ensure that all nonexempt employees receive at least the minimum-wage rate, and that workers are not improperly classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Penalties for paying sub-minimum wages and for misclassifying employees as independent contractors can be substantial.
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Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding these minimum-wage increases or any other wage-and-hour issues.
