2014 State Minimum Wage Rates

Last year President Obama called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage rate to $9 per hour from $7.25 and to automatically adjust it with inflation each year. While this did not pass at the federal level, fourteen states, including New York and California, have increased their minimum wage rates for 2014. When a state has no minimum wage or a minimum wage lower than the federal rate, employees that are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid the 2014 federal minimum of $7.25.A minimum wage increase, whether at the federal or state level, forces employers to give a raise to workers earning less than the new minimum. However, this in turn causes employers to often be subject to requests from employees higher up on the pay scale for a pay increase as well. With an increase in the minimum wage, a domino effect can appear by putting newer workers on the same pay level with more experienced ones, causing employers to thus increase the pay of many of their other employees. So how do employers deal with this? For one, they can give everyone the same percentage increase. This move is effective, but costly. A second, less expensive option is to give all employees the same dollar increase. This has the impact of maintaining a pay differential between employees, but ensuring that those higher up the pay scale stay happy. Lastly, tapered raises can be an option. With this method, higher-paid workers get less of a pay raise, but are generally happy to receive anything. Employers also have to take care to post updated minimum wage notices or provide notices of changes in the wage rate lest they be subject to penalties and fines in accordance with state laws. Here are the fourteen states that have the increased minimum wage for 2014:

• Arizona $7.90
• California $8.00 ($9.00 effective 7/1/2014)
• Colorado $8.00
• Connecticut $8.70
• Florida $7.93
• Missouri $7.50
• Montana $7.90 ($4.00 for employer with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less)
• New Jersey $8.25
• New York $8.00
• Ohio $7.95
• Oregon $9.10
• Rhode Island $8.00
• Vermont $8.73
• Washington $9.32

The remaining states’ minimum wage rates are remaining the same for 2014:

• Alabama No minimum wage
• Alaska $7.75
• Arkansas $6.25
• Delaware $7.25
• District of Columbia $8.25
• Georgia $5.15
• Hawaii $7.25
• Idaho $7.25
• Illinois $8.25 ($7.75 under age 18)
• Indiana $7.25
• Iowa $7.25
• Kansas $7.25
• Kentucky $7.25
• Louisiana No minimum wage
• Maine $7.50
• Maryland $7.25
• Massachusetts $8.00
• Michigan $7.40
• Minnesota $6.15 ($5.25 for employers with annual receipts below $625,000)
• Mississippi No minimum wage
• Nebraska $7.25
• Nevada $7.25 ($8.25 if employer does not provide health benefits)
• New Hampshire $7.25
• New Mexico $7.50
• North Carolina $7.25
• North Dakota $7.25
• Oklahoma $7.25
• Pennsylvania $7.25
• South Carolina No minimum wage
• South Dakota $7.25
• Tennessee No minimum wage
• Texas $7.25
• Utah $7.25
• Virginia $7.25
• West Virginia $7.25
• Wisconsin $7.25
• Wyoming $5.15