Most workers are aware of the role the federal government plays in connection with their wages and salaries–such as setting the federal minimum wage, which now is $5.15 an hour.
But even some of the most savvy employees don’t pay attention to what their state governments are mandating when it comes not only to minimum wage but to tips, overtime pay, unpaid wages and even pay for travel time to and from work.
Not paying attention to state compensation laws could cost you money.
“Individual states care about what’s happening in their own communities,” said Anne C. Ruddy, executive director of WorldatWork, a non-profit human resources organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz., that specializes in compensation and benefits.
“State governments certainly recognize the economic environment that their citizens work in and are more in touch with not only the needs of workers but of regional businesses that want to attract and hire quality people. Workers should look at state laws first, because if they’re more generous to the employee than federal laws, state laws are the ones you go by.”
In an analysis of state legislation passed last year, “wage was an important area,” said Richard R. Nelson, writing in the Monthly Labor Review, a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor. Nelson is a state standards adviser in the department’s wage and hour division. In 2001, 22 states and Puerto Rico adopted new wage regulations.
According to Nelson, the minimum wage was increased in California to $6.25; Connecticut, $6.15; and Rhode Island, $6.15. Washington, at $6.50 an hour, became the first state to adjust it annually for inflation. Besides those four states, minimum wages are higher than the federal minimum in Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont.
Four other significant state changes: Maine is the first state to limit the amount of time employees are required to work to not more than 80 hours in any two consecutive weeks, basically eliminating mandatory overtime; Hawaii gave a boost to waiters and waitresses by passing legislation requiring employers to notify customers if services charges added to their food or beverage bills are used to pay for expenses other than wages and tips of servers; Vermont’s labor commission is authorized to collect unpaid wages; and in California, employees such as farm workers who are required to ride employer-owned vehicles to and from their jobs must be paid for their travel time.
Some other changes:
– Illinois: The tax-exempt amount contributed to a medical savings account must be provided to employees on their withholding statement.
– Colorado: Final payment to a terminated employee, if the accounting unit of the employer is located off the work site, shall be no later than 24 hours after the start of the next regular workweek.
– Iowa: Rights and obligations of employers under the state’s wage payment collection law will continue until they are fulfilled, even if the employee no longer works for that employer.
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– New Hampshire: Claims for equal pay now have an established procedure for hearings and appeals of decisions by the labor department. Also, employees who incur work-related expenses at the request of the employer must be reimbursed within 30 days of presenting proof of payment.
– Oklahoma: Payroll deductions by state employees for a college savings account are now permitted.
– Puerto Rico: There now is a three-year limit on the collection of claims filed by employees against employers for wages, overtime hours, vacation, medical leave and other benefits.
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Carol Kleiman’s column also appears in Tuesday’s Business section. Watch her Career Coach segments Sunday and Tuesday mornings on CLTV. Send e-mail to [email protected].