Two states and D.C., plus a number of local governments, will increase their minimum wages on July 1.

I hope everyone's holidays were happy. While I was out . . .

NOTE FROM ROBIN: I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that this is the last post from the Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance Practice Group that will appear on Employment & Labor Insider. The good news is that the group is starting its own blog, Affirmative Action Edition, in late October. We will let you know as soon as it’s up and running. Thanks very much to Cara Crotty and her team for the excellent guest posts they have contributed over the past year. We will miss you, but we can’t wait to subscribe to and read your new blog!

On September 15, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the 2018 minimum wage rates for covered federal contractors and subcontractors. Beginning January 1, 2018, federal contractors covered by these requirements will be required to pay a minimum wage of $10.35 an hour. The minimum cash wage for tipped workers will increase to $7.25 an hour.

The current minimum wage for federal contractors is $10.20 an hour, and the current minimum cash wage for tipped workers is $6.80 an hour.

These increases are required by an Executive Order issued by President Obama in February 2014, which mandates that the DOL raise the hourly minimum wage paid by certain federal contractors every year based on inflation. The Executive Order also specifies that the minimum cash wage for tipped workers must increase by 95 cents per year until it reaches 70 percent of the minimum wage paid to other hourly workers under the Executive Order.  This requirement was met with the 2017 wage increase.

Employers in St. Louis City must pay their employees a minimum wage of $10 an hour beginning tomorrow—Friday, May 5. The Mayor’s Office just announced that the injunction on the minimum wage ordinance has been lifted. Noncompliance with the ordinance subjects employers to prosecution in municipal court along with potentional revocation of business licenses and occupancy ...

Employers in St. Louis City should prepare for an imminent increase in the minimum wage from $7.70 to $10 per hour. On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court issued its direction to lift an injunction blocking the City’s minimum wage ordinance from taking effect. The trial court that issued the injunction must now lift the injunction—which can happen at any time. Once the injunction is ...

Yesterday, the Missouri Supreme Court reinstated a St. Louis city law that will hike the city’s minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2018. Originally enacted in 2015, the law had been invalidated by a trial judge hours before it was to become effective.

As originally passed, the city’s law provided for graduated increases to the minimum wage as follows:

• October 15, 2015 - $8.25 per ...

The Senate confirmation hearing for Andrew Puzder, President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, will reportedly take place this Wednesday, January 12. (UPDATE (1/10/17): According to Politico, Mr. Puzder's confirmation hearing will now take place on Tuesday, January 17.) Mr. Puzder's nomination is vigorously opposed by employee advocates ...

Sources within President-Elect Donald Trump's transition team said today that Mr. Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor would be Andy Puzder, Chief Executive Officer of CKE Restaurants, Inc., which includes Hardee's and Carl's Jr. A formal announcement is expected on Monday.

UPDATE (12/8/16): Well, I guess it's already official.

CKE's website has a bio of Mr. Puzder, but it has ...

This year is ending with quite a few changes in various federal workplace posters. To ensure that employers, especially federal contractors, have kept up with the required changes, here is a summary:

Federal 6-in-1 Poster 

The U.S. Department of Labor made changes to some of the posters included in what is commonly called the Federal 6-in-1 Poster. The changes ...

Congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump, and to everyone who was elected or reelected to office yesterday. With a President Trump and Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, employers may see some changes in the form of less aggressive regulatory agencies, a National Labor Relations Board that is more employer-friendly, and some relatively conservative ...