Minimum Wage Increases In Washington, D.c., Michigan And Massachusetts

By Author: LaborLaw Center
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Across the U.S., several states have passed minimum wage increases effective in 2014. These increases require that employers update their labor law posters. The major increases for the summer of 2014 are in Washington D.C., Massachusetts (MA) and Michigan (MI).

Washington, D.C. Minimum Wage Increase
In the District of Columbia (affectionately known as D.C. to insiders), employers must pay workers at least $9.50 per hour beginning July 1, 2014. The D.C. minimum wage increase passed in January 2014, raises the hourly rate by $1.00 each year for three consecutive years. Effective July 1, 2015 the D.C. minimum wage is $10.50 per hour. On July 1, 2016 it becomes $11.50 per hour. For the first time, the new Washington D.C. minimum wage increase also implements an annual increase based on the cost of living, beginning July 1, 2017.
The minimum wage for tipped employees in Washington, D.C. remains at $2.77 per hour as long as the employee’s earnings with tips equals or exceeds the minimum wage for hours worked.

Michigan Minimum Wage Increase
On May 27, 2014 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed ...
... a law that will increase the Michigan minimum wage in four stages until it reaches $9.25 per hour in 2018. The first stage of the increase is effective September 1, 2014 when the Michigan minimum wage increases to $8.15 per hour. Effective January 1, 2016 the state minimum wage increases to $8.50 per hour. On January 1, 2017 it increases to $8.90 per hour and finally effective January 1, 2018 it increases to $9.25 per hour. Tipped employees are entitled to 38% of the minimum wage. All Michigan employers will need to update their labor law posters to reflect the new rates.
Beginning After 2018, the Michigan state minimum wage will be tied to inflation – meaning it will gradually increase each year. In an interesting and unique strategy, the annual increases will be tied to the unemployment rate. If the state unemployment rate reaches 8.5%, no increase will occur that year. increase will not occur.

Massachusetts Minimum Wage
On July 26, 2014 Governor Deval Patrick signed a Massachusetts minimum wage increase from $8.00 to $11.00 per hour over three years. Most employers in the state are impacted by the law, which is expected to affect the pay rates of 600,000 employees.
The Massachusetts minimum wage increase will boost the wages of the lowest-paid workers from $8.00 per hour in 2014, to $9.00 per hour on January 1, 2015. The second phase goes into effective in 2016, when employers must pay $10.00 per hour. In 2017, the Massachusetts minimum wage becomes $11.00 per hour. These rates are well above the 2014 federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

All of these minimum wage increases require employers to update their labor law posters, even if all the employees earn wages above the minimum rate.

LaborLawCenter offers employers the resources they need to satisfy their compliance requirements. We specialize in State and Federal Labor Law posters. Visit our website http://www.laborlawcenter.com/ or Call us at 1-800-745-9970 to buy mandatory compliance required labor law posters.