The Missouri minimum wage increases by 40 cents, from $6.65 to $7.05 per hour on January 1, 2009. The increase is larger than in previous years due to the high rate of inflation for the previous 12 months.
By contrast, last year’s increase was just 15 cents per hour according the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Many pundits worry about the impact that such a large increase will have on smaller employers across the state. Especially when coupled with rising prices and declining sales, the 2009 Missouri minimum wage increase is a bitter pill for many employers to swallow.
“In August, the Department released preliminary data projecting an increase to Missouri’s minimum wage by 40 cents,” said Todd Smith, Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) Director. “A review of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July 2008 confirms the Missouri minimum wage rate will increase to $7.05 effective January 1, 2009.”
Under Missouri state statute, Section 290.502.2, the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations must adjust the state minimum wage according to the change in the cost of living.
The CPI (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, serves as the basis for calculating the new rate.
Employers should note that Missouri is one of the few states that allow the minimum wage to go down. If the cost of living goes down, the state minimum wage goes down, too.
Businesses with annual earnings of less than $500,000, including retail and service businesses, are exempt from the Missouri state minimum wage law. For companies that engage in interstate commerce, the workers are covered by the federal minimum wage law. The federal minimum wage is currently $6.55 per hour, with the next scheduled increase in July 2009.
Across the nation, the majority of states have enacted state minimum wage laws. When an employee qualifies for both the federal minimum wage and the state minimum wage, the worker receives whichever provides the greater benefit. In Missouri, these employees would receive the higher Missouri state minimum wage of $7.05 per hour.
