Time to redecorate the employee break room! The deadline is approaching for most U.S. employers to post the new Federal minimum wage increases that were recently signed into law by President George W. Bush. 
All workplaces subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage provisions are required by law to display the new rates in a conspicuous location by Monday, July 24, 2007 - the date of the first of three incremental increases in the Federal wage standard.
The U.S. Department of Labor has created a poster that explains the new minimum wage law to employees. Copies of the poster are available HERE.
This is the first increase in the Federal minimum wage since 1997. The new rate of $7.25 per hour will be phased in over 26 months according to the following timetable:
- First increase - $5.85 per hour, effective on July 24, 2007
- Second increase - $6.55 per hour, one year after the first increase (July 24, 2008)
- Third increase - $7.25 per hour, two years after the first increase (July 24, 2009)
Questions about the minimum wage law or the poster requirements? Please contact Michael Layman, SHRM's Manager of Labor and Employment Legislation.