Human Resource Blog

Federal Minimum Wage in Idaho

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Do you have to pay the minimum wage if you have fewer than 10 employees? Should part-time workers be paid the minimum wage? We are a Idaho company covered by the federal minimum wage.

The amount of business an employer does annually and the kind of service a company provides are factors determining whether a firm is subject to federal minimum wage laws. Whether or not the company engages in interstate commerce is another factor. So there are many reasons, not just the number of employees in a firm, determining whether or not workers must be paid the minimum wage.

If an employee’s duties involve him or her in interstate commerce regularly, then he or she is covered by the federal minimum wage, even if the company does small amounts of business a year. Factor workers making goods that will be sold out of state will be covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and therefore entitled to the minimum wage. So will any employees who must place or answer out-of-state telephone calls on a regular basis. Workers who sort, receive, or send mail and packages from out of state are covered as well.

Currently the federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour. On July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour. Idaho is one of 12 states that pegs the state minimum wage at the same level as the federal minimum wage.

Workers must receive the current $5.85 per hour minimum wage, according to the FLSA, as long as the company has 2 or more employees and does a minimum of $500,000 annually in business.

All hospitals and businesses that provide nursing or medical care for residents are covered. So are schools, preschools, and government agencies.

Domestic workers must receive the minimum wage. That includes maids, cooks, and housekeepers. Full-time babysitters are entitled to the minimum wage, but not part-time babysitters.

Some states have passed laws that set the minimum wage higher than the federal rate. In such cases the state law takes priority and the worker must be paid the higher wage.

No federal or state law permits employers to pay part-time workers less than the minimum wage. Under some circumstances workers under 20 years old may be paid $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days on the job, provided they are not displacing older employees. Student-learners and some disabled workers may also receive wages below the federal minimum.

There are in excess of 130 million workers nationwide covered by the federal minimum wage law. JH