Az minimum wage jumps to $6.90 Jan. 1
More info
• Current minimum wage: $6.75 and hour
• Wage as of Jan. 1, 2008: $6.90
• State and federal employers are exempt as are small businesses that are not subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and which have less than $500,000 in gross annual revenue. However, the small business exclusion effectively is moot as most meet at least one of benchmarks. The state minimum wage also excludes someone employed by a parent or a sibling and casual babysitters.
• If employees believe an employer is violating the requirements of the Arizona Minimum Wage Act, they can file an administrative complaint with the Labor Department of the Industrial Commission of Arizona or file a civil lawsuit.
MORE INFO
• For specific information on the state's new law, contact the Arizona Industrial Commission's Labor Department at 628-5459 or check on the Web at www.ica.state.az.us/minimumwage/
• The Phoenix office of the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, 602-514-7100.
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Workers will get some extra money come Tuesday.
Arizona's minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $6.90 an hour, effective Jan. 1.
Wage increases here are not a sure thing.
The state's minimum wage law, which went into effect last January, requires the minimum wage be adjusted each January based on the over-the-year change in the U.S. All-Urban Consumer Price Index for August of the previous year, according to the Department of Economic Security.
Based on a 2 percent over-the-year increase in the August CPI, DES announced the rate increase.
In fact, workers caught a break: A 15 percent increase actually pushes the minimum to $6.88 an hour, but the state law also requires the rate to be adjusted to the nearest nickel, so the rate will be adjusted up.
Arizona voters approved a state minimum wage in November 2006. Congress and President Bush, approved legislation this summer raising the federal minimum wage in three increments, beginning July 24, 2007, with an increase to $5.85 an hour. The federal rate will subsequently increase by 70 cents each July 24 over the next two years.
Based on U.S. inflation trends over the past decade, the federal minimum wage likely will pass Arizona's minimum wage by July 2009, making 2009 a red letter year for workers with two increases in the minimum wage.
In all instances, the highest wage - federal or state - will always take precedence for Arizona workers, according to the Arizona Industrial Commission.
Many high school aged kid's work at fast food resturants, retail sales store and the like to make a little fun money and learn some work ethic while going to school at the same time. Then they graduate with a particular degree and enter the employment arena where they can earn a salary or wage appropriate to their level of education and expertise. Minimum wage jobs are "no-skills" types of jobs, meaning no specific or special training is necessary to complete routine tasks associated with those jobs.