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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Minimum wage rates may climb this year

    Minimum wage rates may climb this year

    By Paul Davidson, USA TODAYUpdated 17h 27m ago Comments

    At least 17 states recently raised the minimum wage or are considering doing so in 2012, the most in at least six years.

    Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney broke with GOP conservatives this week, renewing his call for automatic federal minimum wage increases to keep up with inflation.

    President Obama has backed raising the U.S. basic wage from its current $7.25 an hour to $9.50 and indexing future automatic increases to inflation. Many economists cite a growing divide between rich and poor.


    The federal minimum wage rate applies everywhere except in states that set higher minimum rates. Currently, 18 states have minimums higher than the federal rate and 23 have the same requirement. Some jobs, such as on small farms, are exempt from minimum wage rules.

    Last month, the minimum wage automatically rose in eight states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — that index it to cost-of-living increases.

    State-by-state minimum wages
    Certain jobs are exempt from minimum wage laws.

    More than federal min. Equals federal min., $7.25

    Less than federal min. AR - $6.25, GA - $5.15, IA MN -$ 6.15, WY - $5.15 .

    No min. required AL. LA. MS. SC. TN.

    AK - $7.75 DE

    AZ - $7.65 HI

    CA - $8.00 IA

    CO - $7.64 ID

    CT -$ 8.25 IN

    DC - $8.25 KS

    FL -$ 7.67 KY

    IL - $8.25 MD

    MA -$ 8.00 MO

    ME - $7.50 NE

    MI - $7.40 NH

    MT - $7.65 NJ

    NV -$ 8.25 NY

    NM - $7.50 NC

    OH - $7.70 ND

    OR - $8.80 OK

    RI -$ 7.40 PA

    VT - $8.46 SD

    WA -$ 9.04 TX

    UT

    18 states and D.C. VA

    WV

    WI

    23 states

    Wage rates in bold indicate an increase over 2011's rate. Source: Dept. of Labor

    This week, bills were introduced to boost the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 in New York and from $8.25 to $9.75 in Connecticut, indexing further increases to inflation. Seven other states —New Jersey, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, California and Missouri — are also weighing basic wage increases.

    "People in California are having a hard time keeping up with inflation and paying for basic living expenses," says Assemblyman Luis Alejo, who introduced California's bill.

    Paul Sonn of the National Employment Law Project says the federal minimum should be raised to $10 to make up for the failure to keep pace with inflation in the 1970s. Since the recession began, he says, the inflation-adjusted salaries of low-wage workers have fallen 2.3%. "We really need to rebuild the middle class," he says.

    About 1.8 million of the USA's 73 million hourly workers earned the federal minimum wage in 2010 — many in the retail, restaurant and hospitality sectors — but many more earning slightly more also would benefit from an increase to $10. Noting low-wage workers spend nearly all of their extra income, the Economic Policy Institute estimates such an increase would generate an extra $20 billion in economic output and 160,000 jobs.

    Business groups oppose minimum-wage increases. When their costs go up, "they find ways to do more with less" and cut hiring, says Michael Saltsman of the Employment Policies Institute.

    Minimum wage rates may climb this year
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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Santa Fe minimum wage to increase to $10.51 on March 1

    Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican
    Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013
    - 1/16/13
    m Wage at a Glance

    Santa Fe "living wage" beginning March 1: $10.51

    Current Santa Fe minimum wage: $10.29

    Albuquerque minimum wage: $8.50

    New Mexico minimum wage: $7.50

    Federal minimum wage: $7.25

    City of San Francisco minimum wage: $10.55

    • Santa Fe’s minimum wage will climb to $10.51 per hour beginning March 1, city officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

      The 2 percent wage increase from the current rate of $10.29 per hour is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the West Region — a statistic calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and released this week for the 2012 calendar year. The index considers the prices of a number of goods and service as well as other economic indicators.

      Santa Fe’s original “living wage” rules were adopted in 2003 and applied only to businesses of a certain size. Changes that went into effect in 2008 made it apply to every employer and tied future increases to the price index. Employers whose workers earn tips may factor those earnings into minimum wage calculations.

      Mayor David Coss remained in Washington D.C. on Wednesday lobbying for gun-control, but the city public information office issued a statement from him that said the wage increase “ensures that we will not leave the lowest paid workers behind.”

      “The Living Wage gives us an important floor and we will continue to reach higher,” he said.

      The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, continued its call for a cap on the wage requirement. Current rules don’t establish a ceiling for how high the wage can climb and also don’t allow for the minimum wage to decrease if the price index drops. Simon Brackley, the chamber’s CEO, said earlier this month that uncertainty about how high the mandate will rise causes angst among local businesses and has prevented some businesses from moving to the city.

      Santa Fe had the highest minimum wage in the nation for a number of years. However, this year the city of San Francisco increased its minimum to $10.55.
      Albuquerque’s minimum wage also increased this year to $8.50 following voter approval of a November ballot question, but its rules also make allowances for employers who provide health care and child care benefits to pay less.

      The state minimum wage is $7.50 per hour, higher than the federal minimum of $7.25. New Mexico is one of 19 states and the District of Columbia that have a higher minimum wage than the federal government, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
      http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/011713LivingWage
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