Nevada’s Minimum Wage Increase

Nevada’s Minimum Wage Increase

By Hannah Dunbar

Nevada’s minimum wage will be increasing this year once again, giving hope to those who are struggling during this inflation. The Office of the Labor Commissioner reminds Nevada State employers that the minimum wage increase will be effective as of July 1, 2022. Assembly Bill 456, passed by the 2019 Nevada Legislature, increases the minimum wage in increments of 75 cents annually through 2024.

The Nevada legislature also introduced another bill called the “Assembly Joint Resolution 10” (AJR 10), seeking to amend the Nevada Constitution again and provide for a $12.00 per hour minimum wage. On May 14, 2021, the bill was passed by the second consecutive legislative session allowing the bill to be placed on the 2022 ballot. If passed, AJR 10 will abolish the two-tiered minimum wage minimum wage system and establish a $12.00 per hour minimum wage for all Nevada employees beginning July 1, 2024.

Nevada’s current state minimum wage rate is $9.75 per hour without benefits and $8.75 per hour with health benefits included. This is greater than the Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour. The Nevada minimum wage was last changed in 2008, when it was raised $2.90 from $6.85 to $9.75. Nevada’s minimum wage rate is linked to a Consumer Price Index, which is intended to raise the rate along with inflation. The current minimum wage rate is re-evaluated yearly based on these values.

Nevada allows disabled workers to be paid under the minimum wage in certain circumstances. In some cases, Minors and workers under 20 may be paid a “training wage” lower than the Nevada minimum wage. Nevada employers may not pay you under $9.75 per hour unless you or your occupation are specifically exempt from the minimum wage under state or federal law.

For the period covering July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, the minimum wage rate is $9.50 per hour if the employee is offered qualifying health benefits and $10.50 per hour if the employee is not offered qualifying health benefits.

According to the release, employees in Nevada who earn more than one and one-half times the minimum wage for both tiers – $14.25 per hour for those offered health benefits and $15.75 per hour for those not offered health benefits- are eligible for overtime at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for over 40 hours of work in a week.

Likewise, employees who earn less than the amounts listed above, in addition to overtime pay after the traditional 40-hour week, Nevada law also provides for overtime pay at one and one-half times an employee’s regular rate of pay for working more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period, officials say.

After the Assembly Bill 456 was passed in 2019- Nevada’s minimum wage was increased to $8.00 per hour with benefits and $9.00 per hour without benefits in 2020. In 2021, this increased to $8.75 with the benefits and $9.75 without benefits. The wage will continue to increase up till 2024 and by that time, the minimum wage will be at $11.00-12.00 per hour.