Employer Law Blog

While the federal minimum wage remains unchanged at $7.55 per hour, both “red” and “blue” states continue to increase the required minimum wage rate under state law above the federal minimum wage rate on an increasing basis. As we previously reported, the minimum wage for Missouri employers increased on January 1, 2015 to $7.65 per hour. While there were efforts by the Illinois legislation to increase the state minimum wage rate to over $10.00 per hour in 2015, it was unable to pass both houses.

FEDERAL

Executive Order 1365817: Government Contractors -- Minimum wage increases to $10.10 per hour for employees of certain government contractors; increases minimum wage of tipped employees to $4.90 per hour.
Affordable Care Act's Shared Responsibility Provision--- the ACA's employer "pay-or-play" mandate will apply to larger firms with 100 or more full-time employees. W

Effective January 1, 2014, most employers in Missouri are now required to pay a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour, which is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The only exception to the Missouri minimum wage increase is for those retail or service employers who have annual gross sales of less than $500,000. Finally, tipped employees must receive a minimum of $3.75 per hour from their employer, who in turn must ensure that the employee receives sufficient tips to bring their total compensation to at least $7.50 per hour.