The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced an increase to Missouri’s minimum wage, effective January 1, 2015. Missouri’s minimum wage has now increased to $7.65 per hour. This 15-cent increase over the 2014 minimum wage of $7.50 per hour is based on an increase in the cost of living for Missourians using the previous year’s Consumer Price Index. While the Missouri minimum wage and overtime laws mostly mirror and incorporate the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations, the minimum wage rate is one of the few differences Missouri employers must know and follow.

Also effective January 1, 2015, employers must pay tipped employees not less than $3.825 per hour in direct wages. In addition to that base pay, tips for such an employee must equal or exceed an average of $3.825 per hour. Otherwise, employers must make up the difference to bring tipped employees’ wages up to at least the minimum wage rate of $7.65 per hour.

Finally, employers must post the new, revised Missouri minimum wage poster reflecting the 2015 rate, which can be easily downloaded in English and Spanish on the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations website.