Federal Minimum Wage Increase

A Federal minimum wage increase of 70 cents per hour is now in effect. The new minimum wage is $6.55 per hour, effective July 24, 2008.

The Federal minimum wage is also referred to as the national minimum wage. States may set their own. More about that is below.

In May of 2007, President Bush signed a new minimum wage law that authorized three annual increases in increments of 70 cents, beginning on the effective date of July 24, 2007.

Subsequently, the increase of 70 cents effective on July 24, 2008 is the second of the three authorized under the new law. The third and final increase will occur on the effective date of July 24, 2009 for a total of $7.25 per hour.

The new minimum wage law is entitled the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. It amended the original minimum wage law entitled the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), which also regulates equal pay, overtime pay and child labor.

The Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007 goes hand-in-hand with the new minimum wage law. It provides tax relief for small businesses, to ease their burden of paying the new minimum wage and the next increase.

The Federal minimum wage is the least hourly amount that employers may pay eligible workers. Before President Bush authorized the new minimum wage and subsequent increases, workers who relied on it to make ends meet had not seen a minimum wage increase since 1997. Needless to say, the minimum wage increases were a long time coming.

The state or municipality in which you work might have implemented an earlier minimum wage increase. For example, on January 1, 2008, San Francisco's minimum wage law (ordinance) mandated $9.36 per hour, while California's equivalent law mandated $8.00 across the state.

If you're eligible for the minimum wage, then your employee rights entitle you to whichever is the most generous amount among the Federal, state and municipal hourly rates, based on the state or municipality in which you work. But, typically, municipalities simply adopt the current state minimum wage, as yours might have.

• To discover the current minimum wage in your work state, contact the wage and hour (or equivalent) division of the state labor department or browse its Web site.
• For the current minimum wage in the municipality in which you work, contact the municipal equivalent of the state labor department (such as the city council).
• To compare the minimum wage amount in your work state with that in other states, see Minimum Wage Laws in the States by the U.S. Department of Labor. It also indicates the minimum wage increases planned by each state, if any, including future effective dates.

The new minimum wage law of 2007 did not change worker eligibility requirements or employer compliance requirements. It was designed solely to implement a Federal minimum wage increase.

• For more information about worker eligibility and related matters, read Minimum Wage.
• For employer compliance requirements and related matters, browse the site of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.