Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor has announced an increase to the State’s minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2022, the state’s minimum wage will become $12.55 per hour. This is an increase of $0.80 from the current minimum wage of $11.75.
This annual adjustment also impacts the minimum wage for tipped employees. The Basic Tipped Wage Rate for service, or “tipped employees,” equals 50% of the full minimum wage. On January 1, 2022, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $5.88 to $6.28 per hour.
The Vermont Legislature passed a bill in 2020 that would increase the minimum wage in steps from its previous inflation-adjusted annual increase. This came after a compromise in which some members sought to raise it to $15 an hour. The state's minimum will increase by a combined $1.59 over two years, before returning to the inflation-based on the Consumer Price Index after 2022.
The federal minimum wage has held at $7.25 since 2009. While efforts in Congress to raise the minimum wage since then have failed, both Starbucks ($15 an hour) and Costco ($17 an hour), among other national businesses, recently increased minimum wages on their own.
The minimum wage and tipped minimum wage are adjusted annually in accordance with Vermont law and take effect at the start of the new year. Any employee who believes they are not being compensated fairly, according to this law, is encouraged to contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Unit at 802-951-4083 or online at Labor.Vermont.gov/Rights-and-Wages.
Additional information on the Vermont Department of Labor and its resources may be found at Labor.Vermont.gov.
Source: Vermont Department of Labor. 11.1.2021. Montpelier www.labor.vermont.gov