Currently, it is $7.25 per hour as of July 24, 2009.
Minimum wages set fair rates for workers, and helps raise them, as well as reducing nationwide poverty.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 created the minimum wage, after social upheaval about unfair labor and child labor practices across the U.S. at the time.
Before the FLSA, Massachusetts passed a state minimum wage law in 1912.
We’ve incorporated a minimum wage tool in our product Payroll Point to help employers across the country keep up with minimum wage changes.The tool will make it easier for companies to make important decisions regarding their practices.
Our Business Development Manager Frank Tresnak approached me with the idea of tracking the changes to minimum wage after several of his clients asked if Symmetry offered something like that. There was a demand, and we decided to meet it. We as a company decided to incorporate it to our existing product Payroll Point, which helps employers by providing a detailed withholding tax list using an employee’s residence and work addresses.
A couple years ago, I noticed rates changing at an alarming rate, so I created my own small Excel worksheet to monitor them. At that time, I was only tracking regular minimum wage, but there are many more like tipped minimum wage, for example. I also only focused on states at that time, too. Back then (and still now), we updated just state minimum wage rates on our website. Now I track everything. I research locales like county and city rates, and different rates.
Normally, I find the information by visiting specific jurisdiction websites. I have a google alert set up for rate changes. I also rely on several periodicals, but sometimes they can be misleading, so I will always find a verified resource on a jurisdiction website and call him or her asking to confirm. There is a lot of incorrect information about minimum wage being reported.
If I find a new rate, I create a ticket to our help desk. From there, our help desk analysts take the ticket and hand it off to Symmetry Fellow/Engineer Martin Sladok, who makes the appropriate changes within the product.
Having this tool helps companies forecast their futures. If a rate changes and they can’t meet it or raise the rate, they’ll know if they’ll be able to hire more or less people for that quarter, or year. It makes it easier for them to pay their employees correctly the first time, with no worries. It can even be helpful in knowing where to locate their businesses. In some cities, the minimum wage rates can be different based on a single street. For small employers, it can be hard to continue to keep up with minimum wage increases, so knowing ahead of time can be especially helpful for them. Bottom line, it helps companies make the right decisions when they know the correct rates in advance.
As many medical professionals cross state lines to enter and help critical areas hit by COVID-19, payroll professionals can’t help but ask, “are they going to be hit with unexpected state income taxes?” On June 18, 2020, U.S. Senators John Thune and Sherrod Brown introduced S. 3995, the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act of 2020.
If you missed the 2020 Tax Day on July 15, make sure you know what to do next!
During difficult times, such as bad weather, caring for a family member, or a pandemic such as COVID-19, working from home can become an imperative need for an employee. To help companies prepare to work from home, here are four essential steps that will keep employees and companies safe and compliant.
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