The New Mexico state minimum wage has increased twice since July, 2007. The first increase occurred when the federal minimum wage rose on July 24, 2007. The second increase went into effect on January1, 2008. The minimum rose first from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour, then from $5.85 to $6.50, a whopping jump of $1.35 per hour, the biggest single increase in the country.
This means that the current New Mexico minimum wage is $6.50 per hour.
Other states bumped their minimum wage rates in the last few months of 2007. Nevada increased its minimum wage to $6.33 per hour. New Hampshire’s minimum was upped to $6.50 per hour, and Maine’s minimum hit $7.00 per hour.
January 1, 2008 saw other states increase their minimum wage rates along with New Mexico. Delaware, Oregon, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, California, Washington and Vermont all enacted cost-of-living increases to their minimum wage as of the New Year.
Of these states, Florida’s state minimum is the lowest at $6.79 per hour. California and Massachusetts both increased their state minimums to $8.00 per hour. Washington’s bump gave its state minimum wage the honor of highest in the United States at $8.07 per hour.
Under the New Mexico minimum wage statute, tipped workers still have one of the lowest rates in the country at $2.12 per hour. Under federal law the rate for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour. Other state minimum wages for tipped workers cover a very broad range, from $2.23 per hour to $8.07 per hour.
New Mexico’s state minimum wage applies to workers under the age of 18 who are in training or haven’t graduated from high school. Employers are not allowed to pay them a lower wage.
In addition, this New Mexico statute mandates that when a worker is fired, the employer must pay that worker’s final wages within 5 days. Employees on commission or who do piece work must receive their final check within ten days of termination. For a worker who quits, however, the employer can pay that worker’s final wages on the next regularly scheduled pay day.
New Mexico is not the only state with a change to the minimum wage. Vermont, and Missouri are among the fourteen states to raise its state minimum wage as of January 1, 2008. The increases in these fourteen states, however, are just the beginning of a year full of changes.
There are more minimum wage changes on the horizon, as well. On the 1st of July, 2008, West Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Pennsylvania will enact raises to their state minimum wages, too. Michigan and Illinois will each up its minimum by 25 cents per hour. Illinois’s rate will go from $7.50 to $7.75 and Michigan’s new rate will be $7.40 per hour.
Pennsylvania workers will receive a raise of 90 cents per hour to $7.15 per hour. West Virginia will add 70 cents to its minimum wage rate resulting in a raise from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Kentucky’s minimum will change from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour, which is a foreshadowing of the change in the federal minimum which will occur later in July of 2008.
On May 24, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 into law. This law established a three-step system to raise the federal minimum wage.
On July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage rate will increase from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour.
As a result of the changes in both federal and state minimum wage laws, employers must update their labor law posters. Companies can get complete updated posters from www.laborlawcenter.com.
