Nevada's New Minimum Wage Requirements (Effective July 1, 2008)
Dear friends:
As some of you may already know, Hale Lane Peek Dennison and Howard combined forces with Holland & Hart LLP. As our first legal update as Holland and Hart, we wanted to remind you that, effective July 1, 2008, Nevada’s minimum wage increased to $5.85 per hour for an employee who has a qualified health plan made available to them and to $6.85 per hour for employees who do not have such a plan available to them. If you need more information about how the minimum wage tiers work in Nevada, the definition of a qualified health plan, or other details on how Nevada’s minimum wage works with the federal minimum wage, please contact either of the authors of this article and we will be happy to send you our prior articles that explain these issues or to answer directly any questions that you may have.
Please also note that, effective July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour. This will affect employees in the lower $5.85 tier (those employees who do have a qualified health plan available to them), because an employer cannot pay a minimum wage that is less than the federally-mandated minimum.
Accordingly, effective July 24, 2008, employers who make a qualified health plan available to their employees will have to pay $6.55 per hour to their employees. On the other hand, employers who do not make a qualified health plan available to their employees will have to pay a $6.85 per hour minimum wage. We have included the chart below for your convenience:
| DATE |
EMPLOYEE THAT IS OFFERED A QUALIFIED HEALTH PLAN |
EMPLOYEE THAT IS NOT OFFERED A QUALIFIED HEALTH PLAN |
| July 1, 2008 |
$5.85 |
$6.85 |
| July 24, 2008 |
$6.55 |
$6.85 |
You should also remember to update your minimum wage posters that should be hanging in the workplace, in an area that is easily accessible to your employees (i.e., break room), with the new minimum wage rates.
Please also note that the new I-9 form has finally been published and is now available for your use. Please click here to view the new form.
Finally, we would like to share with you a little bit of information about Holland and Hart. Holland and Hart is the largest firm based in the Mountain West. This combination brings together many of the leading lawyers in Nevada and the Mountain West to provide enhanced legal services across the region. With 63 attorneys in Nevada and a total of 415 attorneys throughout the Unites States, Holland and Hart offers a wide variety of services and expertise in multiple areas that were previously unavailable to Hale Lane’s clients. We are excited about the combination because it will give us an opportunity to serve you better.
Thank you. We look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Anthony L. Hall, Partner
Dora Lane, Associate
Holland & Hart LLP
This publication is designed to provide general information on pertinent legal topics. The statements made are provided for educational purposes only. They do not constitute legal or financial advice nor do they necessarily reflect the views of Holland & Hart LLP or any of its attorneys other than the author(s). This publication is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between you and Holland & Hart LLP. Substantive changes in the law subsequent to the date of this publication might affect the analysis or commentary. Similarly, the analysis may differ depending on the jurisdiction or circumstances. If you have specific questions as to the application of the law to your activities, you should seek the advice of your legal counsel.