Well, after much ado, gnashing, angst, and so forth…
President Bush signed the legislation increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. This will occur in three phases or steps over the next two years or so.
Obviously, this will have some impact on all employers, and some more so than others.
Here’s the time line: The federal minimum wage will increase from $5.15 per hour to:
$5.85 p/h on July 24, 2007,
$6.55 p/h on July 24, 2008, and
$7.25 p/h July 24, 2009
Some states have minimum wages set above the federal level already; I’m not going to try to tell you anything at all in that regard — I know when I’m not an expert on something! However, employers in 17 states have no separate state minimum wage, or have the state minimum wage locked to the federal level (I guess for those states that just feel the need to pass a law). These states are:
Alabama
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nebraska (some conditions)
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah (some conditions)
Virginia
Wyoming (some conditions)
Pay attention, folks. Make sure you are prepared for this in advance enough to make the right things happen. Watch pay inequities in un/semi-skilled fields and industries, and keep a lookout for pay compression at lower salary levels.
In other words, just keep on managin’.
