Federal Minimum Wage Rises to $7.25/Hour Today

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Dennis Westlind

If you pay your employees minimum wage, prepare to give them a raise effective today:  the federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 per hour, effective July 24.  Of course, you may live in a state that has a higher minimum wage; in that case, employers are obligated to pay the higher of the two wages.  Click here for a state-by-state list of minimum wage rates. 

What's that you say?  This won't affect your business since you pay higher than the minimum wage?  Don't be so sure.  According to this article from the New York Times, increases in the minimum wage tend to have a ripple effect, as employees with wage rates above the minimum wage want to maintain their lead over their lower-earning counterparts. 

Think the increase in the minimum wage is too much?  You're not alone.  As this article from the Associated Press points out, some business are concerned that the increase in the minimum wage will slow down the economic recovery.  On the other hand, the Times points out that even with this increase, the minimum wage is still no higher now, after inflation, than it was in the early 1980s, and it is 17 percent lower than its peak in 1968.

Tags: , , , , ,
Trackbacks (0) Links to blogs that reference this article Trackback URL
http://www.stoelrivesworldofemployment.com/admin/trackback/147405
Comments (0) Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end
Post A Comment / Question Use this form to send a comment to the editor. Please do not include any information that you or someone else considers to be confidential in nature. Without prior establishment of an attorney-client relationship, unsolicited messages containing confidential information cannot be protected from disclosure.







Remember personal info?
Send To A Friend Use this form to send this entry to a friend via email.