Wage Hour Rules

Montana’s minimum wage will increase to $8.05 on January 1

Workers in Montana will see the state minimum wage increase from $7.90 per hour to $8.05 per hour on January 1, 2015. An estimated 12,850 Montana workers, or 2.9 percent of the workforce, are expected to benefit from the increase.

In the 2006 General Election voters approved Initiative 151 to raise Montana’s minimum wage and provide for future, automatic adjustments based on any inflation in the cost of living.

In 2013, the industry with the largest number of workers earning minimum wage was the accommodations and food services industry followed by the retail trade industry. Cashiers, Combined Food and Preparation Workers, Waiters and Waitresses, and Retail Salespersons are occupations with large number of minimum wage workers.

Montana Code Annotated Section 39-3-409 requires the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to adjust the Montana minimum wage for inflation using the CPI-U. The 2015 minimum wage has been calculated by taking the current minimum wage of $7.90 and increasing it by the CPI-U increase from August of 2013 to August 2014. The CPI-U increased by 1.7 percent over the year ending August 2014. (Montana Department of Labor and Industry, News Release, October 1, 2014, http://dli.mt.gov/news/21; Montana Department of Labor and Industry, http://www.mtwagehourbopa.com.)

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