According to a new Wage and Hour laws notice issued by the Kentucky Department of Labor, the state minimum wage has increased. Effective June 26 2007, the Kentucky minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour. It’s the first increase since the federal minimum wage was raised to $5.15 per hour in 1997. This is just the first in a series of 3 scheduled increases for the state.
The minimum wage bill passed by the state legislature was signed into law by Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher in March 2007. Under current state law, the Kentucky minimum wage will increase an additional 70 cents to $6.55 per hour on July 1, 2008. Finally, on July 1, 2009 the rate will jump 70 cents again to $7.25 per hour.
The state increases are consistent with the recently updated federal minimum wage law, however, the timing of the state increases is slightly different. The Kentucky minimum wage increased to $5.85 on June 26, while the federal minimum wage doesn’t increase until July 24, 2007. So, virtually every worker in Kentucky has already seen the benefit of that increase.
Future increases to the Kentucky minimum wage will occur on July 1 in 2008 and 2009. The corresponding changes to the federal law will not occur until July 24 of those years.
An employee who is covered by both a state and federal law is entitled to the greater benefit. The vast majority of employees in Kentucky covered under the federal minimum wage law are also covered by the state minimum wage law. In effect, this means that almost every employee in the state will receive the increase 23 days earlier under the state law.
This change temporarily puts the Kentucky minimum wage higher than 21 states in the union. The new Kentucky rate is on a par with the minimum wage in West Virginia.
Employers should be alert to the posting requirement posed by all these changes. Each time the state or federal minimum wage changes, every employer in the state is required to update their labor law poster. This will result in 6 new posters in 2 years, for the minimum wage alone.
Under a special provision of the state law, the Kentucky minimum wage will automatically be increased if the federal minimum wage is set at a higher level.
“Both employers and employees throughout the commonwealth need to be aware that, as of Tuesday, June 26, the new minimum wage is a requirement of both Kentucky and federal law,” said Jim Zimmerman, executive director of the Office of Workplace Standards for the Kentucky Department of Labor. “Employers should make the necessary adjustments to the wages of affected employees, and those employees should check their upcoming pay stubs to make sure they are properly compensated for their labor.”No other changes have been made relative to wage payment requirements. Tip credit allowances for the restaurant industry and other tipped professions remain unchanged, according to Zimmerman.
Frustration with federal delays was obvious in the passage of the Kentucky law. Rev. Dr. Nancy Jo Kemper, Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said, “We have been waiting for Washington to act and again it has stalled. The minimum wage is not just a matter of economics, but it is a values issue. There is a floor below which it is unjust and immoral to pay someone for their labor.” Rev. Kemper is on the Steering Committee of Let Justice Roll, a group in favor of higher minimum wages.
While Kentucky’s new minimum wage is a victory for the state’s poorest workers, it’s far from the highest rate in the nation. That honor belongs to the state of Washington which offers residents a minimum wage of $7.93, with annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.
