DOL Makes Available New Minimum Wage Poster
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has made available on its Web site, free of charge, a revised Federal minimum wage poster reflecting the recently enacted minimum wage increases (www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm).
Every employer of employees subject to the Fair Labor Standard Act's minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments so as to permit employees to readily read it.
Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage for covered non-exempt employees will be $5.85 per hour. The minimum wage increases to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.
A separate provision of the recently-passed law brings about phased increases to the minimum wage in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with the goal of bringing the minimum wage in those locations up to the general federal minimum wage over a number of years.
The tip credit provisions of the FLSA remain the same, as an employer is still required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equals at the least the Federal minimum wage, provided the employer has informed the employee of the tip credit being taken, the employee retains all tips except to the extent they participate in a valid tip pooling arrangement, and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips.
The youth minimum wage also remains the same. Employees under 20 years of age may be paid $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer.
DOL says that additional posters and compliance assistance materials will be available in the coming weeks. For more information, call DOL's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit www.wagehour.dol.gov.