As the New Year began, new minimum wage rates took effect in numerous states and localities nationwide.
Effective January 1, 2026, 18 states, along with many local jurisdictions, raised their minimum wage requirements, and six states adjusted salary thresholds for exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees. Employers should review these changes and ensure ongoing compliance.
Once again, we rang in the new year with a great many state and local minimum wage increases.
This year, 23 states—and several counties and cities—will increase their minimum wages and, where applicable, tipped minimum wage. Most of these increases went into effect on January 1, 2025.
Employers with minimum wage (and tipped minimum wage) workers should discuss newly implemented increases with counsel to ensure their compensation practices comply across all relevant jurisdictions.
The Washington, D.C. Council (the Council) has yet again taken action to delay enforcement of Initiative 82, the District’s new law to eliminate the use of the “tip credit” for certain service industry employees by July 1, 2027.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- Minimum Wages and Exemption Thresholds Adjusted Across the USA
- Demystifying Wage and Hour Audits - One-on-One Video with Courtney McFate
- Minimum Wage Increases Coming Soon Across the Nation – Especially in California
- Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on . . . Successful Summer Internship Programs
- New York Enacts Amendment to Limit Frequency of Pay Damages for Manual Workers