Workers in Minnesota who earn minimum wage will get a slight pay raise in the new year.
Large employers with a gross revenue of $500,000 or more will be required to pay workers at least $10 an hour, and small employers with gross revenue of less than $500,000 will have to pay workers at least $8.15 an hour after minimum wages are adjusted for inflation Jan. 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
The new pay rates, 14 cents more per hour for those who work for large employers and 11 cents more per hour for those who work for smaller employers, amount to a 1.41% pay increase. About 206,000 workers will see an hourly pay bump.
“This increase is a positive step for workers, yet more work needs to be done to ensure workers earn a living wage to support their families,” said labor and industry Commissioner Nancy Leppink. “Minnesota families of three or more will remain at or below the poverty level even though an adult family member is working full time at the minimum wage, forcing many families to seek assistance to make up the living-wage gap.”
The youth pay rate for workers under 18 and a training wage for employees under 20 who have been on the job for fewer than 90 days will be $8.15 per hour.
The new rates do not apply to employees in Minneapolis or St. Paul, as those cities have their own minimum-wage scales.
In Minneapolis, employers with 100 or fewer employees are required to pay workers $11 per hour, rising to $11.75 on July 1. Rates will jump from $12.25 to $13.25 per hour for employers with more than 100 workers.
St. Paul will begin phasing in new pay requirements on Jan. 1, when businesses with 10,000 or more employees must pay $12.50 an hour. Starting July 1, St. Paul employers with five or fewer employees will have to pay workers $9.25 per hour. Those with six to 99 employees will pay $10 per hour and those with 100 to 9,999 workers will have to pay $11.50 per hour.
