On July 30, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 3568, the most extensive change to the state’s wage theft statute in decades. The amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2011, focuses on the following:
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The Nevada Labor Commissioner announced that, effective July 1, 2010, Nevada’s minimum wage increased as follows:
In Collins v. Heritage Wine Cellars Ltd. (7th Cir., No. 09-1181, Dec. 21, 2009), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals analyzed the extent to which drivers who delivered wine exclusively within the State of Illinois were engaged in interstate commerce and, therefore, not entitled to overtime under the Motor Carrier Act exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, this exemption from overtime applies to employees of a motor carrier if “property ... [is] transported by [the] motor carrier between a place in a State and a place in another State,” provided the employees “engage in activities of a character directly affecting the safety of operation of motor vehicles in the transportation on the public highways of passengers or property in interstate or foreign commerce within the meaning of the Motor Carrier Act.” As the court noted, “[t]he shipment itself must be in some sense interstate commerce (transportation between a place in a state and a place in another state).”
In a recent opinion, a federal trial court in Illinois clarified that an employee can voluntarily waive the right to bring (or participate in) a class or collective action. Brown v. Sears Holding Mgmt Corp., 09-C-2203 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 17, 2009). The court also recognized that employees can waive legal rights arising under common law for non-payment of wages (an issue that was not disputed in the case).
Continue Reading...The federal minimum wage is set to increase to $7.25 on July 24, 2009. Additionally, 23 states will also increase the minimum wage for employers subject to state wage and hour laws. The majority of these increases take effect on July 24, 2009, but three states raise their minimum wage effective July 1, 2009.
In addition to noting the wage increase, employers should ensure that they are properly displaying a copy of the state’s current minimum wage poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace that notes the wage increase, even if the increase will not affect hourly employees at any particular workplace.
The following states have increased their state minimum wage:
Delaware
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
District of Columbia
• $8.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Federal
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Florida
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/2009
Idaho
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Illinois
• $8.00/hr. effective 7/1/09
Indiana
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Kentucky
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/1/09
Maryland
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Missouri
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Montana
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Nebraska
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Nevada
• If health benefits are available:
Effective 7/1/09 $6.55/hr (employers subject to the FLSA should see federal requirements)
• If the employer does not provide qualified health benefits:
Effective 7/1/09 $7.55/hr
New Jersey
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
New York
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/2009
North Carolina
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
North Dakota
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Oklahoma
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Pennsylvania
• $7.25/hr. (large employers) effective 7/24/09
• $7.25/hr. (small employers) effective 7/24/09
South Dakota
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Texas
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Utah
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Virginia
• $7.25/hr. effective 7/24/09
Wisconsin
• $7.25/hr effective 7/24/09
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