Effective January 1, 2019, almost half of U.S. states have raised their minimum wages, with 23 implementing a wage increase, including the District of Columbia.
While the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 has not been adjusted in nearly a decade, several states and cities have set their own higher minimum wages. These changes are in response to a call for a living wage for workers across the country, and California and D.C. are leading the charge by working towards a $15 per hour wage.
The states that are impacted in 2019 are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The following summarizes the states with a higher concentration of Taiwanese and Overseas Chinese businesses that may be impacted:
California
- $12.00 per hour, for businesses with 26 or more employees; $11.00 for smaller employers. On April 4, 2016, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed legislation to gradually raise the state minimum wage with annual increases to reach $15 by 2022 for businesses with 26 or more employees and by 2023 for smaller employers. The plan also allows for the Governor to "pause" wage hikes, to be determined by September 1 of each year for the next year, if negative economic or budgetary conditions emerge (S.B. 3, L. 2016).
District of Columbia
- $13.25 per hour. The minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $14.00 on July 1, 2019. Under the "Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016," the minimum wage will reach $15 per hour by 2020. Wages for tipped workers will also increase, eventually reaching $5 per hour by 2020. Starting in 2021, both wage rates will be adjusted based on inflation. (DC Law 21-144 (Act 21-429; B21-712), effective August 19, 2016 (63 DC Register 11135))
New York
- Tiered/Rates vary by region: $15 per hour for New York City employers with 11 or more employees, and $13.50 per hour for New York City employers with 10 or fewer employees; $12 per hour for Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties; $11.10 per hour for the remainder of the state. Rate increases are included as part of the 2016 Budget Bill, Part K (S.B. 6406-C/A.B. 9006-C).
- Effective December 31, 2018 in New York City, the minimum wage for workers in fast food establishments is $15 per hour and $12.75 per hour for fast food workers in the rest of the state.
Washington
- $12 per hour for employees who have reached the age of 18, per voter-approved Initiative 1433, effective January 1, 2017.
- Under Initiative 1433, the minimum wage will increase gradually to $13.50 by 2020.
- Workers under 16 years old can be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage, or $10.20 per hour, in 2019.
- The initiative also guarantees paid sick time to workers, allowing workers to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.
If you have any investment or business entity in these impacted states or plan to set up a new business in the U.S., please contact Formosan Brothers attorneys-at-law. We will be happy to assist you in the business investment process.
(Author: Pei-Yuan Wei Legal Consultant)
