Client
Bulletin #374 -
For PDF version of this Client Bulletin, click here.
BUSH
SIGNS NEW MINIMUM WAGE
June 4, 2007
President George W. Bush has
signed legislation that will phase in a higher federal minimum
wage. Many state legislatures have already increased their minimum
wages to more than the federal minimum, which is currently $5.15
an hour and had not been increased since 1997.
Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage will increase
to $5.85 an hour. A year from that date, the minimum will increase
to $6.55 an hour. The final increase, to take effect July 24,
2009, will raise the federal minimum to $7.25 an hour.
If your employees are in a state with a higher minimum wage than
the effective federal minimum, you should continue paying the
minimum wage in accordance with applicable state law. Employers
in the hotel and restaurant industries who have tipped employees
should ensure that their employees receive enough in tips to
ensure satisfaction with both the federal and applicable state
tip credit requirements. It should also be noted that a number
of states now require a higher cash minimum wage for tipped employees
than the $2.13 per hour required under the federal law.
The "Fair Minimum Wage and Tax Relief" law was part
of a spending bill that authorized more funds for the war in
Iraq. The bill also extended federal minimum-wage protection
to American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and provided tax relief to small businesses.
If you have any questions about the applicability of federal
or state minimum wage laws to your company, please contact any
member of Constangy's wage and hour practice group, or the Constangy
attorney of your choice.
Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC has counseled employers, exclusively,
on labor and employment law matters since 1946. The firm represents Fortune
500 corporations and small companies across the country. More than 100 lawyers
work with clients to provide cost-effective legal services and sound preventive
advice to enhance the employer-employee relationship. Offices are located in
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Virginia,
Missouri, and Texas. For more information about the firm's labor and employment
services, visit www.constangy.com, or call toll free at 866-843-9555.
