Oregon’s minimum wage rate will increase by 45 cents, from $7.95 to $8.40 per hour, effective January 1, 2009.
As a result of Ballot Measure 25, passed by voters in 2002 (ORS 653.025(2), as amended), Oregon’s minimum wage is adjusted annually based on changes in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is charged with adjusting the minimum wage for inflation every September, rounded to the nearest five cents. Based on an increase in the CPI of 5.37% from August 2007 to August 2008, the calculation used for determining the minimum wage rate for 2009 is: $7.95 X .0537 = $.4269, rounded to $0.45.
Minimum wage workers represent about 7.5% or about 143,000 of Oregon’s workforce.
Oregon employers are required to post the new minimum wage poster, which is available at no cost to employers and can be downloaded from the BOLI website. Click here to download the new 2009 Oregon minimum wage poster.
Washington’s minimum wage will increase from $8.07 to $8.55 per hour on January 1, 2009 and will continue to have the highest state minimum wage in the nation.
As of this notice the updated poster was not available on the Washington Department of labor and industries website. A link to the new poster will be available on the Resources section of our website when it becomes available.
FYI, the state with the lowest minimum wage in the U.S. is Wyoming, at $5.15 per hour.
