During the Second Special Session of the West Virginia Legislature, we were very happy to usher through the correction of the new minimum wage law, however, due to the OMEGA staff being out of the office last week for a conference, we failed to communicate our efforts and results.  We apologize for the delay of this update and hope you find the below information beneficial.

Last week, the West Virginia Legislature met for its Second Special Session to consider Senate Bill 2005 and House Bill 201, which make changes to the recently-signed minimum wage increase.  HB 4283, which was signed by the Governor in April, raises the minimum wage to $8.00 beginning on January 1, 2015 and $8.75 beginning on January 1, 2016.  Additionally, in the regular session, the federal exemptions were removed, meaning that employers who were accustomed to following federal minimum wage guidelines would have to start following state guidelines.

On Wednesday, HB 201 passed without changes and the federal exemptions were be restored for the overtime and maximum hours sections of the code.  Employers will now also continue following the federal guidelines for minimum wage rates until January 1, 2015 before phasing over to the state guidelines. 

HB 201 does not make any changes to the scheduled increases in the minimum wage but OMEGA believes the changes brought by passage of this bill address the main concerns of many employers in West Virginia.  We are happy to see this bill pass without amendments and believe it will help ease the financial strain many businesses will face with the raise of minimum wage.