West Virginia Amends State Mandated Minimum Wage Hike
June 27, 2014
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin recently signed into law a new minimum wage requirement for West Virginia employers beginning January 1, 2015. The states minimum wage will rise from the current federal rate of $7.25 an hour to $8.00 in 2015, and then to $8.75 beginning in 2016.
West Virginia will be the 22nd state to have a higher minimum wage than what federal law requires. The unclear piece of the law involved an employer's ability to apply overtime exemptions under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act particularly for sales/commissioned employees. In its original version the new law would have eliminated a company's ability to use the Federal (FLSA) exemptions effective July 1, 2014, and would have applied the West Virginia state law which lacks the exemptions currently allowed under (FLSA). However, the law was recently amended to allow West Virginia companies currently under the federal jurisdiction to continue to follow the overtime exemptions of the (FLSA) through January 1, 2015. We will continue to monitor this closely and provide our clients with updates as applicable.
SESCO is always available to evaluate your pay practices and ensure that you are compliant with federal and state wage and hour laws. If you have not had a recent audit of your compensation practices, we encourage you to call us and schedule an audit. You may contact us by phone at 423-764-4127 or by email at sesco@sescomgt.com.
