Utah Joins the Growing List of States Allowing Employers to Pay Wages With "Pay Cards"

Effective March 24, 2010, employers in Utah are now permitted to use pay cards to compensate their employees for their wages or salary. The new regulation (Utah Admin. Rule R610-3-22) defines a pay card as a “stored value card that can be used at an ATM-type machine to access wages that are credited to the card.” If an employer in Utah intends to pay employees with a pay card, it must ensure that this new practice meets the following conditions:

  1. With one use, or a single transaction, the employee must be able to withdraw the full amount of earned wages without incurring a fee.
  2. The full amount of wages for a pay period shall be available for the employee via the pay card on the applicable payday.
  3. On each payday, the employer must provide the employee with a written or electronic statement of deductions from the employee’s gross wages for the pay period at issue.
     
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Minimum Wage Increases Set For July

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