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HomeNewsMinnesota’s Minimum Wage Rates Adjusted Up For Inflation January 1

Minnesota’s Minimum Wage Rates Adjusted Up For Inflation January 1

The minimum wage in Minnesota has ris­en to $11.13 per hour for all employers, in­cluding large employ­ers, small employers, youth, and J-1 visa wages for lodging es­tablishments. The law still allows for a 90-day training wage for employees under age 20 and current hourly training wage increas­es to $9.08 per hour.

Employers in the cities of Minneapo­lis and St. Paul have higher minimum wage requirements than the state mandates.

The effectiveness and impact of mini­mum wage laws are subjects of ongoing debate among econo­mists.

In a 2018 presenta­tion titled “Minimum Wage Law–A Brief History and Over­view,” C. Snowden Stieber, a J.D. Candi­date at the Universi­ty of Minnesota Law School, pointed out that Minnesota Gov­ernor Floyd Olson signed an executive order in 1931 setting a forty-five-cents-per-hour minimum wage as the first state mini­mum wage. That rate, adjusted for inflation in 2018 for Stieber’s presentation, was $11.39.

The primary purpose of a government-man­dated minimum wage is to establish a base­line for fair compen­sation for work per­formed. The laws aim to prevent employers from paying extreme­ly low wages, which may lead to worker ex­ploitation and poverty. The goal is to ensure workers earn enough to cover basic living expenses like food, shelter, and transpor­tation.

A minimum wage is intended to help lift low-wage workers out of poverty or at least reduce the severity of poverty.

When low-wage workers have more money, they can boost local economies by in­creasing spending on goods and services.

Economists, busi­nesspeople, and poli­ticians continue to de­bate the effectiveness and impact of mini­mum wage laws.

Minnesota law requires employers to display some state-mandated posters in a location where employees can easily see them. The posters are available at no cost and need to be updated only when Minnesota law changes. Employers can find the updated minimum-wage rate poster and other workplace notices and posters at the Department of Labor and Industry website, dli.mn.gov/posters.

Steve Fernlund
Steve Fernlund
Columnist Steve Fernlund is a retired business owner living in Duluth. He published the Cook County News Herald in Grand Marais at the end of the last century. You may email comments or North Shore news story ideas to him at steve.fernlund@gmail.com. And see more at www.stevefernlund.com.
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