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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Ind. Law - Many new laws go into effect Sunday, July 1; What of the minimum wage law changes?
The AP's Mike Smith writes today about new laws, including the cigarette tax increase and more stringent seat belt rules taking effect the first of July. The story lists a number of other new laws, including:
Renters tired of landlords letting themselves in unannounced also will get some relief. A new law will now require landlords to give tenants reasonable notice before entering a rental unit, except in emergencies.The minimum wage raise. The ILB has posted two earlier entries about the minimum wage changes. This entry, from April 11, 2007, begins:Tie the state’s minimum wage to the federal level. They are both $5.15 per hour now, but under a law recently enacted by Congress, the rate will increase to $7.25 over three years.
I've always understood that the General Assembly cannot delegate its lawmaking authority to the federal government. For instance, look at IC 6-3-1-11. This section defines what the Indiana Code means when it references the federal "Internal Revenue Code." The federal law changes nearly every year.On April 18th the ILB wrote:Does a reference in Indiana law to the "Internal Revenue Code" incorporate all the latest changes made by Congress? Yes, but only because the Indiana law is changed each year to reflect the most recent version of the IRS.
For instance, IC 6-3-1-11 currently begins: "(a) The term "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of the United States as amended and in effect on January 1, 2006." The language in bold is the result of a change made last year. Looking at the history of the section, you will see that it has been amended nearly every year to keep it in sync with the federal version.What is that? Because the General Assembly cannot delegate its lawmaking authority to the federal government.
Here is the relevant language in HB 1027, found on p. 3 of the bill:(h) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (j), every employer employing at least two (2) employees during a work week shall, in any work week in which the employer is subject to this chapter, pay each of the employees in any work week beginning on or after June 30, 2007, wages of not less than the minimum wage payable under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).According to today's C&P story, the "catch" is that Congress has not yet passed the minimum wage increase that the Indiana law will incorporate by reference.In my opinion, for the reasons I set out in this April 11th ILB entry titled "Is this an unconstitutional delegation of Indiana legislative authority?" the "catch" is that this effort would constitute an unconstitutional delegation of Indiana legislative authority to the federal government.
Here is information from CCH: "The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, raises the federal minimum wage rate to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007, $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009." (CCH)(CCH2)
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (HR 2) is legislation that amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and gradually raises the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. It was signed into law on May 25, 2007 as part of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007. The act raises the federal minimum wage in 3 increments: to $5.85 per hour 60 days after enactment (2007-07-24), to $6.55 per hour 12 months after that (2008-07-24), and finally to $7.25 per hour 12 months after that (2009-07-24).Here is a link to the federal provisions, found in Title VIII of HR 2206, signed by the President on May 25, 2007. The applicable provisions:
SEC. 8101. SHORT TITLE.Again, the federal provision was enacted (signed) May 25, 2007 and, by its terms, takes effect July 24, 2007.This subtitle may be cited as the `Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007'.
SEC. 8102. MINIMUM WAGE.
(a) IN GENERAL- Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
`(1) except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than--
`(A) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007;
`(B) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and
`(C) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day;'.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE - The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
The applicable provision, SECTION 1, of the final version of the Indiana minimum wage increase effort, House Enrolled Act 1027, was signed into law May 4, 2007 and is by its terms effective July 1, 2007. As quoted earlier, it amends IC 22-2-2-4 by, inter alia, adding a new subsection (h) [see p. 3] that reads:
(h) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (j), every employer employing at least two (2) employees during a work week shall, in any work week in which the employer is subject to this chapter, pay each of the employees in any work week beginning on or after June 30, 2007, wages of not less than the minimum wage payable under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).The federal FLSA "as amended and in effect" (to use the wording used to incorporate the most recent version of the IRC each year) on June 30, 2007 sets the federal minimum wage at $5.15 an hour. The federal amendment raising the minimum wage to $5.85 does not go into effect until July 24th, 2007, and thus is not incorporated into the Indiana statute which is effective July 1, 2007, in my opinion.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 26, 2007 09:00 AM
Posted to Indiana Law