With the New Year comes a rise in the minimum hourly wage and salary level the government requires you to pay to your workers.
The minimum weekly salary is the lowest salary you may pay an employee, presuming they have primarily exempt duties, for him or her to be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, under the professional, executive or administrative exemptions. In 2020 the minimum salary threshold at the federal level will rise to $684.00 a week. If you are located in states like California or New York, however, you may already have to pay such employees a higher minimum salary than the federal level. Some state’s minimum salaries are also going up in 2020 and, depending on where you are located, may exceed $1,000.00 per week.
For non-exempt workers, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is not going up in January. However, the minimum wage in most states is already higher than $7.25, and many states’ minimum wages are going up in 2020. In some locations the minimum wage will even exceed $16.00 per hour. Also, pay close attention to employees who do not perform all of their work in one fixed location, as the required minimum wage often varies based on which county or city an employee is working in.
Lastly, don’t forget that you still have to meet the minimum hourly wage for non-exempt workers regardless of whether they are paid by salary, commission, piece rate or some other method.