Missouri’s minimum wage officially went up to $7.25 today – and it may be going up even more in the near future.

The state’s labor department announced the hike today, which affects businesses with a gross income of more than $500,000. The rate went up because of a state law requiring Missouri’s minimum wage to match the federal government’s rate. The feds raised the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour today.

The rate raise also affects tipped employees. Businesses must pay tipped employees $3.625 an hour – which is half of the new minimum wage. And if tipped employees don’t make up the other half, employers must pay the difference.

But according to the labor department’s release, the minimum wage could go up again.

That’s because of a state law requiring the wage to escalate based on the consumer price index. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will measure the CPI on September 30, 2009 and compare it with the current wage. The department may then raise the state’s minimum wage again on January 1, 2010.

The “escalator” clause was enacted in a ballot item that passed overwhelmingly in 2006.

Tags: minimum wage, missouri
Categories: Business, Economy, State Politics.

Posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 11:25 am
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