Minimum Wage Labor Laws

Across the country, businesses are required to post state and federal labor law posters they describe the rights, privileges and protections afforded to employees. One of the types of labor law posters that are the most common are those dealing with minimum wage requirements. Here we take a look at some of the common questions regarding minimum wage labor law, and the differences between state and federal regulations.

All employers are required to pay employees a minimum state hourly wage. There are some exceptions to this rule, say for instance when salary is determined by sales or by tips. In addition, there are state labor law exceptions when employees are considered (regardless of age) “learners”, in which case they would receive a portion of the hourly minimum wage during their training (limited to a certain number of weeks). There is also an allowance for the youth minimum wage program, which states that youth under the age of twenty cannot be paid less than $4.25 an hour for the first ninety days.

Minimum wage varies by state and typically changes once a year or once every few years. In fact, it is one of the most common changing labor laws. The federal government also has a minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. States may have a higher minimum wage than the required federal rate. For example, California and New York both have higher rates, due to the increase cost of living in those regions.

In cases where tips are considered the majority of the hourly wage, there is a tip minimum wage salary. If the tips plus the tip minimum wage are not equal or greater than the federal minimum wage, then the employer must make up the difference. Employers are bound by law to follow the hourly minimum wage, which is the same for adults and minors.  

There is such a thing as subminimum wage, which means that employers can only pay employees below minimum wage if and only if there are vocational education students or disabled persons being employed, where their mental or physical disability impairs their productivity. In order for an employer to pay an employee subminimum wage, the Department of Labor must issue a certificate to allow it.

Businesses who fail to comply with minimum wage laws or to meet federal or state labor law posters standards can be subject to fees up to thousands of dollars.