Washington Policy Watch

Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a new state minimum wage into law on Thursday, providing a modest increase in the state’s minimum wage to $7.50 by October 1, 2009. Importantly, the new law also closes loopholes that previously excluded various categories of low-wage workers from minimum wage or overtime coverage.

Maine’s minimum wage now covers all domestic workers – not just those employed by third-party agencies – and all employees of publicly supported non-profit or educational organizations. It also requires that hotel and restaurant workers, previously excluded from state overtime requirements, be paid overtime under state law.

Filed under: minimum wage, work and family, business, public policy, united states, work

Legislators in Maine and Iowa are taking new steps to improve and protect wages for workers. And most businesses may not even notice the difference.

The Maine House and Senate approved a bill raising the state’s $7 hourly minimum wage by a half dollar (though additional votes are set on the measure in both legislative chambers).

The Iowa Senate took a different tack, approving a bill that increases fines on employers who violate wage laws, crack down on the practice of misclassifying employees as “independent contractors” to evade those laws, and protect workers reporting violations from retaliation.

This while according to a recent survey, the majority of small businesses (51 percent) don’t even know what the minimum wage is in their state – and a large majority (70 percent) support increasing the national minimum wage.

Filed under: minimum wage, work and family, business, public policy, united states, work