Missouri Minimum Wage Expected to Increase 6.1 Percent to $7.05 Per Hour in 2009

Although not final, Missouri's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is projecting a 6.1 percent increase in the cost-of-living that would raise the state minimum wage to $7.05 per hour on January 1, 2009.

Missouri's Minimum Wage Law, adopted by Missourians in 2007, requires the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) Director to, on September 30 of each year, make any required adjustments to the minimum wage earnings based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This requires measuring the increase or decrease in the cost of living percentage increase or decrease as of the preceding July over the level as of July of the immediate preceding year of the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as published by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) with the amount of the minimum wage increase or decrease rounded to the nearest 5 cents. The next increase in Missouri's minimum wage rate will become effective on January 1, 2009. That new rate has been projected to be $7.05 per hour. For tipped employees, the new rate will be a minimum of $3.525 per hour.

The current minimum wage rate mandated by the USDOL (the federal minimum wage rate) is $6.55. Since Missouri's current minimum wage rate and the projected rate for January 1 are both higher than the $6.55, Missouri's Minimum Wage Rate is the prevailing rate that Missouri employers are required to pay. The federal minimum wage rate will again increase on July 24, 2009, to $7.25 per hour. If the above projected rate of $7.05 for Missouri becomes final, the federal rate will exceed Missouri's rate on July 24, 2009, and will then become the minimum wage rate that Missouri employers are required to pay.

The final Missouri minimum wage rate for 2009 will be calculated again on September 30, 2008, with an effective date of January 1, 2009. ( Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Labor News, August 28, 2008.)

Reprinted with permission. © CCH

Missouri Minimum Wage Expected to Increase 6.1 Percent to $7.05 Per Hour in 2009 Although not final, Missouri's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is projecting a 6.1 percent increase in the cost of living that would raise the state minimum