IRS NEWS and UPDATES
New Federal Minimum Wage Effective July 24, 2007
July 24, 2007 --
The federal minimum wage for covered, nonexempt employees is $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.
The FLSA contains some exceptions (or exemptions) from the minimum wage requirement. Some exceptions apply to specific types of businesses and others apply to specific types of work. It also provides for the employment of certain individuals at wage rates below the minimum wage.
Wages required by FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered. Deductions made from wages for such items as cash or merchandise shortages, employer-required uniforms, and tools of the trade, are not legal to the extent that they reduce the wages of employees below the minimum rate required by FLSA or reduce the amount of overtime pay due under FLSA.
The FLSA does not provide for wage payment or collection procedures for an employee's wages or commissions in excess of those required by the FLSA. However, some states do have laws under which such claims may be filed.
Federal employees are subject to additional rules enforced by the Office of Personnel Management.
It should also be noted that there are a number of employment practices that the FLSA does not regulate. For example, FLSA does not require:
- vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay;
- meal or rest periods, holidays off, or vacations;
- premium pay for weekend or holiday work;
- pay raises or fringe benefits; and
- a discharge notice, reason for discharge, or immediate payment of final wages to terminated employees
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