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HR Tip: Minimum wage hikes effective January 1


On Jan. 1, minimum wage hikes went into effect in 13 US states and several major cities. Also, federal contractors began paying their employees $10.15 (up from $10.10) per hour. California and Massachusetts offer some of the highest minimum wages in the nation, at $10 an hour-while a handful of cities set a $13 hourly minimum.

Here are the state-by-state changes:

StateCurrentJan. 1Increase
Alaska$8.75$9.75$1.00
Arkansas$7.50$8.00$0.50
California$9.00$10.00$1.00
Connecticut$9.15$9.60$0.45
Hawaii$7.75$8.50$0.75
Maryland$8.00$8.75$0.75
Massachusetts$9.00$10.00$1.00
Michigan$8.15$8.50$0.35
Nebraska$8.00$9.00$1.00
New York$8.75$9.00$0.25
Rhode Island$9.00$9.60$0.60
Vermont$9.15$9.60$0.45
West Virginia$8.00$8.75$0.75

Source: qz.com

In Seattle, the minimum wage rises to between $10.50 and $13, depending on the size of the company. In New York, fast food workers and government employees saw their minimum wage jump to $10.50 in New York City and $9.75 in the rest of the state. Effective July 1, the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco will increase their minimum wages to $10.50 and $13 an hour.