Minimum wage in Virgin Islands

The minimum wage in the Virgin Islands has adopted the Federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. The state law is $4.65 per hour and pays for premium time over forty hours on the sixth and seventh consecutive days. Except for businesses with gross annual receipts of less than $150,000 the state minimum wage is $4.30 per hour. The minimum wage for newly hired employees who are less than twenty years old and for the first ninety consecutive calendar days after initial employment is not less than $4.25 per hour.

The minimum wage of $5.15 per hour is paid to employees who are engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. The tourist service and restaurant industry minimum wage rate is $4.65 per hour with the maximum tip credit being 50% against the minimum wage which sets the minimum cash wage at $2.33 per hour.

The U.S. Virgin Islands’ economy relies on aid from the U.S. government, U.S. Virgin Island citizens living abroad and the tourism industry. Government jobs make up about one third of the work force. Tourism and the retail trade is the next largest employer. The Hess oil refinery, an aluminum plant and a cattle farm on St. Croix are the next largest employer. While the minimum wage in the Virgin Islands is the same as it is on the mainland, the standard of living is higher than the majority of the neighboring islands in the Caribbean. The economies of St. John and St. Thomas depend primarily upon tourism. Within the past decade there has been some industrial growth that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) Incentive Benefit Program has encouraged and is working on developing an industrial park.

Even though the U.S. Virgin Islands are working towards developing a strong economy, the unemployment rate is about six per cent of the workforce of approximately 50,000 people. My research shows that there are no plans to increase the minimum wage for workers in the Virgin Islands.