Nebraska Minimum Wage Law

There’s been a lot of talk lately about raising the Federal Minimum Wage, so I know you’ve probably heard about it. The state of Nebraska has been talking about raising their Minimum Wage, too. I’ve been watching legislation introduced in Nebraska in 2005 called LB 554, which carried over into 2006 and has now been defeated. It would have raised the Minimum Wage, which is now $5.15. The new Minimum Wage would go up to $6.36 over a period of three years, with yearly changes based on the Consumer Price Index. So for now, Nebraska’s Minimum Wage remains at $5.15, where it has been since 1997. In addition to the Minimum Wage, there’s a training wage of $4.25 that is set for workers age 17 and over.

The purpose of wage laws is to be sure that employees are treated with fairness for the work they perform. Federal and state laws give the Minimum Wage in detail that workers are to receive. The Federal standard is set, and then states are able to set their own Minimum Wage. But all employers have to follow the higher of the two.

The state of Nebraska has a tip wage of $2.13, the same as the Federal standard. It is my understanding that the tip wage is paid with the assumption that combining the $2.13 plus the tips the employee earns add up to at least the Federal Minimum Wage. If they don’t, then the employer is supposed to pay enough to make up the difference. An employee is eligible for a tip wage if he or she is paid more than $30 a month in tips.

I know that a lot of employers end up with violations of the employment wage requirement. I believe this is usually not intentional. Failure to comply might involve not paying the minimum wage or paying the training wage to workers who should get the regular minimum wage. Sometimes they deduct too much for tips, or they deduct for meals or food as if they were wages.