Alaska Employment Law

The only pre-filed bill in the Second Session of the 25th Legislature that would significantly effect employment law is SB 187, which would increase the state minimum wage.  

SB 187 provides:

The minimum wage under this subsection is the greater of (1) $1 more an hour than the federal minimum wage; or (2) $8.00 an hour as adjusted under this paragraph; the department shall, by regulation, not later than September 30 of each calendar year, adjust the minimum wage established in this paragraph for inflation effective for the following calendar year; the adjusted wage shall be the most recent wage under this paragraph adjusted for 100 percent of the rate of inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the Anchorage metropolitan area, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor; the department shall round the adjusted minimum wage up to the nearest one cent; the adjusted wage shall apply to work performed beginning on January 1 through December 31 of the year for which it is effective.

If passed, the bill would be effective January 1, 2009.  The sponsors are Senators Bill Wielechowski, Joe Thomas, and Kim Elton.

Analysis:  SB 187 would amend AS 23.10.065(a) to substitute a floating minimum wage for the current specified wage.   The new floating rate would be the higher of a) $1.00 over the FLSA rate or b) an $8.00/hr. rate adjusted annually for the Anchorage COLA.

The current state minimum wage is $7.15.  (In contrast, the federal minimum wage is $5.85; it rises to $6.55 on July 24, 2008.) 

If SB 187 passes, the state minimum wage will be $8.00 on January 1, 2009, which will rise (because of the tie to FLSA) to $8.25 on July 24, 2009.  Thereafter, the state minimum wage will rise each January 1st by the amount of the Anchorage COLA.   The FLSA does not currently provide for any increases after July of 2009, thereby mooting the first half of SB 187’s alternatives after that point.

Thus, if SB 187 passes, the Alaska minimum wage will be:

Current: $7.15/hr.

01/01/09: $8.00/hr.

07/24/09: $8.25/hr.

01/01/10: $8.25/hr. + Anchorage COLA