The New Year looks different for RI and MA minimum wage employees. A number of states have announced minimum wage increases for 2016, with MA increasing wages by $1.00 and RI by $0.60. Tipped workers will also see an increase in their wages, as an attempt to more equally match other employment categories.

What are the new wages?

MA for 2016:

• Minimum wage will go up from $9.00 an hour to $10.00 per hour.
• Tipped employees’ wages will increase to $3.35 per hour. The employees must earn tips equaling $20 or more per month to qualify for this hourly wage rate. Also, workers must be paid at least $10 per hour (factoring in the hourly wage plus tips), and if not, the difference must be made up by the employer.

RI for 2016:

• Minimum wage employees will see an increase in their hourly wage from $9.00 to $9.60 per hour.
• Tipped employees, including wait staff and bartenders, will see an increase from their $2.89 wage rate to $3.39 per hour. An additional $0.50 increase is already set to take effect in 2017, bringing the tipped minimum wage to $3.89 per hour on 1/1/17.

There are a number of other minimum wage proposals working their way through the various statehouses. Stay tuned as there are sure to be more changes to come as the debate over minimum wage continues on.

Questions? Contact any member of our Tax Services Team.