NORTH CAROLINA MINIMUM WAGE

The current minimum wage in North Carolina is $6.15 an hour.  Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage will increase from $5.15 per hour in three steps:  to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.  In North Carolina, employers are required to pay the higher of the state or federal minimum wages.  So, the minimum wage employers are required to pay their employees in North Carolina will remain at $6.15 per hour until July 24, 2008, when it will increase to $6.55 per hour.

However, while the increase in the federal minimum wage to $5.85 per hour on July 24, 2007, will not affect the minimum wage in North Carolina, it will have an impact on businesses where employees receive tips.  This is because the increase in the federal minimum wage by seventy cents creates a corresponding increase in the amount of the tip credit that employers are allowed to count toward the payment of wages for their tipped employees.  The following chart shows how the changes to the federal minimum wage will affect the tip credit allowed for tipped employees in North Carolina.

Effective July 24, 2007, an employer may pay as little as $2.43 an hour to tipped employees as long as each employee receives enough in tips to make up the difference between the wages paid and the minimum wage.  Effective July 24, 2008, employers may pay as little as $2.13.

Click here for more information on the minimum wage laws, including tipped employees.

Note:  If you ordered a poster printed in December 2006 or later, you do not need to order another poster.  Simply visit our Poster Web Site and print out the updated portion and paste it to your poster.  This will cut down on printing and mailing costs.

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