If you are reading this article, you are probably curious what the current minimum wage is for your state in 2018? The good news is that 18 states and 20 cities have elected to increase their minimum wage sometime during 2018 fiscal year.
Minimum wage increases slated for 2018
Although the Federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 for non-exempt "hourly" employees, each City and State can at its' discretion mandate a higher wage. Below is a list of States that have elected to increase their local minimum wage for 2018. It should be noted that many of these increases are tied to inflation values and therefore offer minimum benefit to the worker. Although some increases are nominal, most are well above the federal minimum wage.
2018 State Wage revisions
| City | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $9.80 | $9.84 |
| Arizona | $10.00 | $10.50 |
| California | $10.50 | $11.00 |
| Colorado | $9.30 | $10.20 |
| Florida | $8.10 | $8.25 |
| Hawaii | $9.25 | $10.10 |
| Maine | $9.00 | $10.00 |
| Michigan | $8.90 | $9.25 |
| Minnesota | $9.50 | $9.65 |
| Missouri | $7.70 | $7.85 |
| Montana | $8.15 | $8.30 |
| New Jersey | $8.44 | $8.60 |
| New York | $9.70 | $10.40 |
| Ohio | $8.15 | $8.30 |
| Rhode Island | $9.60 | $10.10 |
| South Dakota | $8.65 | $8.85 |
| Vermont | $10.00 | $10.50 |
| Washington | $11.00 | $11.50 |
2018 City Wage revisions
| City | State | Min Wage | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | California | $15.00 | 10/1/2018 |
| Los Angeles (>=26 employees) | California | $13.25 | 7/1/2018 |
| Los Angeles (< 26 employees) | California | $12.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| Malibu (>= 26 employees) | California | $14.25 | 7/1/2017 |
| Malibu (< 26 employees) | California | $13.25 | 7/1/2017 |
| Pasadena | California | $13.25 | 7/1/2017 |
| Richmond | California | $15.00 | 1/1/2019 |
| Sacramento (>=101 employees) | California | $11.00 | 1/1/2018 |
| Sacramento (<101 employees) | California | $11.00 | 1/1/2018 |
| San Diego | California | $15.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| San Francisco | California | $15.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| San Jose | California | $13.50 | 7/1/2018 |
| San Leandro | California | $13.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| Santa Monica (>=26 employees) | California | $13.25 | 7/1/2018 |
| Santa Monica (<26 employees) | California | $12.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| Chicago | Illinois | $12.00 | 7/1/2018 |
| Portland | Maine | TBD | 7/1/2018 |
| Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester Counties | New York | $12.00 | 12/31/2017 |
| New York City (>= 11 employees) | New York | $13.00 | 12/31/2017 |
| New York City | New York | $12.00 | 12/31/2017 |
Why do states increase minimum wages?
Last month I wrote an article describing a Non-Exempt (Hourly) Employee and the introduction of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The federal government provides the base-line "floor" minimum wage that an employee can be paid. The law allows each State to determine what it considers fair base wage as long as its' equal to or greater than the federal minimum of $7.25/hr. The basic idea is that a local government pass laws to increase the local minimum wage.
Originally the minimum wage was created to stabilize the post-depression economy. However, I suspect that local governments continue to increase wages for this same reasons today - stability.
Exceptions from Minimum Wage
There are some types of employee that are exempt from the federal minimum wage.
- Tipped Employees such as restaurant workers can be paid $2.13/hr.
- Youth (under 20 yrs age) workers can be paid 4.25/hr until 90 days of employment.
- Employees who work in conjunction with "Covered Federal Contracts" make $10.35/hr (Executive Order 13658)
- View all federal minimum wage guidelines
https://www.laborlawcenter.com/state-minimum-wage-rates/ Federal and State minimum wage.