On Friday, July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage increased
from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. This was the last of three increases
called for by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. This latest
increase raised the minimum wage in thirty states (Alabama, Alaska,
Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming) where the state
minimum wage was set at or below the federal minimum wage, or there
is no state minimum wage.
The law provides certain exceptions to the new federal minimum
wage rate. For example, tipped employees can still be paid a lower
rate of $2.13 an hour in direct wages so long as that amount plus
the tips received equals the new federal minimum wage. Companies
can also pay new employees under twenty years of age a
