JUNEAU, Alaska—The Alaska minimum wage will increase from $9.89 to $10.19 in 2020. Voters passed a ballot initiative in 2014 to adjust the minimum wage annually for inflation.
Alaska Statute 23.10.065(a) requires the Alaska minimum wage to be adjusted using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, formerly the Anchorage CPI, for the preceding calendar year. The CPI-U increased 3.0 percent in 2018, from 218.873 to 225.545. As a result, the minimum wage will rise from $9.89 to $10.19, effective Jan. 1. By law, Alaska’s minimum wage must remain at least $1 per hour over the federal minimum wage.
The Alaska minimum wage applies to all hours worked in a pay period, regardless of how the employee is paid: whether by time, piece, commission, or otherwise. The least an employer can pay an employee is equal to all actual hours worked in a pay period multiplied by the Alaska minimum wage, unless an employer can demonstrate a specific exemption.
Tips do not count toward the minimum wage. Further, under Alaska law, public school bus driver wages must be no less than twice the current Alaska minimum wage. Also, certain exempt employees must be paid on a salary basis of not less than twice the current Alaska minimum wage, based on a 40-hour work week, to maintain their exempt status.
More information about Alaska’s wage laws can be found at: http://labor.alaska.gov/lss/whhome.htm.
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