Wolters Kluwer Employment Law Analyst Barbara O’Dell said, “The incremental wage increases, including in California and Washington, which are moving minimum wages toward a final goal of $15.00 per hour, are an example of how states are trying to address this issue.”
Right now, the highest statewide minimum wage rate is in the District of Columbia — at $13.25 per hour. Massachusetts and Washington trail right behind at $12 per hour.
Some of these new wage rates are also part of a scheduled, incremental rise decided earlier. But in places like Arkansas and Missouri, voters initiated this using the power of the ballot in the November mid-term elections.
Minimum wage for fast food workers in NYC will be $15 per hour on Dec 31
Even though places such as Georgia and Wyoming offer minimum ages as low as $5.15 per hour, it is expected that most employers and employees there would be subject to the higher federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.