E. Jason Tremblay

Effective January 1, 2012, the minimum wage in the State of Florida will increase from $7.31 to $7.67 per hour. Minimum wage for tipped employees, such as waiters and waitresses, will increase from $4.29 to $4.65 per hour. This $0.36 per hour increase comes on the coattails of a previous minimum wage increase in Florida in June 1, 2011. Florida employers should therefore be prepared to again increase the hourly pay of any employees on minimum wage as of January 1, 2012. For further information, please contact your labor and employment attorney at Arnstein & Lehr LLP.

Federal Minimum Wage Increase

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division reminds employers and employees that the federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 on Friday, July 24, 2009.  With this change, employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act will be entitled to be paid no less than $7.25 per hour.  This increase is the last of three provided by the enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.  A revised Federal minimum wage poster is now available for viewing, downloading, and posting.  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.

As of July 1, 2009 the State of Illinois minimum wage was raised to $8.00 per hour.