Minimum Wage Increases to $7.25 an Hour

On July 24th, 2009, the Federal minimum wage increased to $7.25/hour (from $6.55/hour). In New York, the minimum wage was already $7.15/hour, so this means a bump-up of 10 cents an hour. The increase to $7.25/hour means that a full-time worker makes approximately $14,500/year. This is absolutely ridiculous; raising the minimum wage to a Living Wage would be one of the most powerful ways to stimulate local economies as those with less money tend to spend their money locally and quickly.

It is important to note that the minimum wage for tipped-workers remains, nationally, at the ridiculously low level of $2.13/hour (in New York, the tipped-worker minimum wage is $4.60/hour). For an excellent report from the National Employment Law Project, Restoring the Minimum Wage for America’s Tipped Workers, click here.

Of course, some of the Workers’ Center higher profile ‘cases’ involve people being paid woefully less than the minimum wage. If you yourself find yourself or know of someone not making the minimum wage (or any other worker’s rights violation), please contact the Workers’ Center at either 607…; via email at TCWRC@yahoo.com; or via the web at https://www.tcworkerscenter.org/contact.php