Remember the Federal Minimum Wage Increases to $6.55 Per Hour on July 24, 2008

This month, the second minimum wage increase added by Congress in May 2007 goes into effect. This increase will raise the federal minimum wage from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. One more increase (the final mandated wage increase from the bill passed in 2007) will be effective on July 24, 2009, raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. A state can always set a minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum and employers should seek legal counsel if they are not certain which rate applies to them where state law sets a different minimum wage. The DOL provides resources on the minimum wage on its website, which can be found by clicking here.

So what does this mean? Employers must pay their employees at or above the federal minimum wage and update their minimum wage posters to reflect the increased minimum wage. Click here for the various compliance resources, including fact sheets and posters on the minimum wage, on the DOL's website.