The Utah and the federal minimum wages will both increase to $7.25 an hour on July 24, 2009. That will represent a hike of 70 cents an hour from the current hourly rate of $6.55.

That is because, by Utah statute, the Utah minimum wage must mirror and track the federal wage.

Practically speaking, this means that every year, whatever the federal minimum wage is, the Utah minimum is the same. The two rates change on the same day of the year as well.

No federal minimum wage increase is planned for 2010, which is good news for Utah employers feeling the results of the economic downturn.

Detailed information about the federal minimum wage law, as enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL), is on the web. Visit www.dol.gov.

The federal minimum wage law is established under the Fair Labor Standards Act, otherwise known as the FLSA. The FLSA, as mentioned, is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Utah’s wage laws are under the jurisdiction of the Utah Department of Labor, through its own Wage and Hour Division.

Like the federal minimum wage, the Utah rate increased from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour in 2007. Both rates were hiked from $5.85 an hour to $6.55 an hour in 2008. Both laws require employers to pay workers overtime at 1.5 times their normal hourly rate for any hours over 40 in a week.

While the Utah law by statute mirrors the federal law quite closely, there is at least one significant difference. The federal FLSA covers only those employers whose annual revenues are at least $500,000, or whose businesses conduct interstate commerce. Utah labor law extends to smaller businesses as well.

Among those businesses or institutions covered by the regulations of the FLSA are hospitals, health care facilities, and schools, as well as local, state, and federal agencies.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 5:58 am and is filed under Labor & Employment Laws, Minimum Wage Laws. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.