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What is the Minimum Wage in Minnesota?

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minimum wage in MinnesotaThe minimum wage in Minnesota increased this January 2021, and there are plans for that trend to continue. The North Star State is also doing a few things differently with its hourly remuneration, including considerations for business size, regional area, worker’s age, and experience. It’s a midwestern minimum wage trendsetter with flexible legislation that benefits both business and worker.

US-Turkey Capital Sets Multiple Minimum Wages

According to the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, the state is first-rate in thanksgiving bird production. It turns out that there are more turkeys raised in a year than there are people in California. While that title is hard to top, minimum wage legislators made their mark with a unique approach that attempted to balance employer and employee interests.

For a business classified as a small employer, the minimum wage currently sits at $8.21 an hour. To fit this category, an enterprise must have annual gross revenue of $500,000 or less. Any employer bigger than that must pay a minimum wage of $10.08. The Department of Labor and Industry estimates that it will affect an estimated 206,000 jobs – or 8.5 percent of total employment.

Minneapolis and St. Paul Strike Out on their Own

Two of Minnesota’s most populous cities have chosen to make their own minimum wage rules. In 2017, Minneapolis’s city council voted to increase the minimum wage every year until it reaches $15/hr in 2022. Like its state counterpart, the city also has a separate rate for small businesses with less than 100 workers. In this case, employers can expect incremental increases until reaching the mandated $14.50 an hour by 2024. Future upticks will be indexed to inflation.

Minneapolis’ minimum wage decision proved to be a controversial one. The city follows a handful of other U.S. cities, such as Seattle and San Francisco, who also raised their minimum wages. Not surprisingly, Minneapolis-based manufacturing supplies company Graco Ltd. took issue with its local government pushing the boundaries of its authority. The business launched a suit to prevent the pay hike but lost that battle when Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold the minimum wage law in 2020.

St. Paul has a different set of rules but is similar in spirit to the state’s capital. The city takes it further by breaking employers into three categories — micro-business, small business, or a large business. Despite the difference, all roads still lead to a minimum wage standard of $15.

Minnesota Minimum Wage for Youth, Trainees, and Tipped Employees

Like many other states, Minnesota has a different hourly wage for youth under 18 years of age — this is $8.21 an hour. Additionally, there is a 90-day training wage for employees under 20 years old that sits at $8.21 an hour. These are also set to increase in step with the standard minimum wage as long as economic conditions remain favorable. As far as tipped employees go, Minnesota breaks from other states and doesn’t allow employers to pay a lower wage to those who receive gratuities. A worker must receive minimum pay along with whatever tips they might earn.

Read More:

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What is the Minimum Wage in Illinois?

How to Retire Well in Minnesota

Photo by Kate Townsend on Unsplash

10 Best States to Live in with a Bad Credit Score

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Where You Can Make the Best of a Bad Credit Situation

10 Best States To Live In With A Bad Credit Score

It’s no fun having a bad credit score. You pay higher interest rates for your credit – if you can get credit at all. You have little room for financial error. A small, unexpected bill can cause big problems.

At least your hardships may not be as bad if you live in certain states.

RewardExpert, a site that helps users optimize credit and debit card reward programs, examined factors that affect residents with poor credit – such as typical expenses, usury laws to limit predatory lending, and the status of debt collectors – and how those factors vary in each state.

Where is bad credit more tolerable? Consumers with bad credit should avoid the coasts and stick to the Midwest – not surprising, given the typically high costs of living in coastal areas.

Top 10 States

Here are the top ten states to live in when your credit score is low.

1. Iowa

Iowa tops the list by doing well in all categories. Iowa is tied for the lowest maximum usury interest rate (currently less than 5 percent) and had the third-lowest number of complaints per capita with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Hawkeye state residents also have a low cost of living with reasonable household incomes.

2. Minnesota

Minnesota has the lowest delinquency rate and a strong economy. An average household income of over $80,000 combined with a low cost of living makes it more likely that consumers with poor credit can earn enough to stay ahead of bills.

3. Nebraska

Nebraska’s story is like Minnesota’s, with a slightly higher delinquency rate and cost of living. The strong state economy and low unemployment show low risk to creditors.

4. North Dakota

The overall debt load of North Dakotans is low, and those who do incur debt, seem to handle it well. North Dakota trails only West Virginia in the fewest number of CFPB complaints per capita.

5. Wisconsin

Good state financial health, low credit card debts, and relatively high credit scores help badger state residents overcome a relatively high cost of living.

6. Arkansas

Welcome to Arkansas, where the cost of living is one of the lowest in the nation – including low home prices. Maximum usury rates are a tolerable 6 percent.

7. Kansas

Kansas doesn’t top any category, but it does reasonably well in all. The sunflower state has one of the better household incomes compared to the cost of living.

8. West Virginia

As noted above, West Virginia has the fewest number of complaints lodged with the CFPB. Housing prices are the lowest in the nation, keeping overall mortgage debt under control.

9. Wyoming

Certain costs are quite low in Wyoming, especially tuition costs. Given that student loan debt is second only to mortgage debt in America – and debt collectors are few – Wyoming makes it into the top ten.

10. Oklahoma

There are many debt collectors in Oklahoma, but the cost of living is relatively low, and the maximum usury rate is 6 percent – making debt manageable for most Oklahomans. Medicare Supplement plans are cheaper in Oklahoma vs the rest of the country, saving seniors substantial money in retirement.

It Could Be Worse…

If you are struggling with debt in one of these states, remember that things could be worse – you could be living in one of the ten worst states for bad credit.

Regardless of where you live, take steps to improve your credit score. Pay all your bills on time and control your spending to keep your debt load down.

When you have bad credit, it’s imperative to keep your balance down and patiently chip away at debt with on-time payments. Your credit score will improve – eventually. If you do not know your score, consider downloading a free tool like Credit Karma, Credit Repair, Credit Firm, and Credit Assistance Network or similar apps that allows you to monitor your credit.

This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com.

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

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What is Super Tuesday?

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What is Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is approaching quickly. You’ve probably heard the term “Super Tuesday” on the news and throughout the debates on television, however, do you really know what “Super Tuesday” is all about?

What is Super Tuesday?

Super Tuesday is arguably the most important day during the election primaries. This year, Super Tuesday lands on March 1. Twelve states and one territory will hold primary elections and caucuses in the weeks leading up to Super Tuesday. On Tuesday, the primary elections will essentially decide which candidates will be moving forward in the presidential race.

The polls that are a result of Super Tuesday help each party decide which candidate they would like to choose to move forward. On the Democratic ticket, the decision will be between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. On the Republican ticket, voters will have the choice between front-runner Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Ben Carson.

When is Super Tuesday?

This day lands on a different date each year. This year, Super Tuesday lands on March 1. The day usually falls in late February or early March every four years (during an election year).

Which States are Involved in Super Tuesday?

Not all states are involved in the primary elections on Super Tuesday. As noted before, only 12 states and one territory have events leading up to and on Super Tuesday. Both Democrats and Republicans candidates hold caucus in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans also hold caucuses in Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming and Democrats hold caucus in American Samoa.

What is Super Tuesday

What Does Super Tuesday Mean?

Super Tuesday gives voters a chance to head to the polls and help each party decide which candidate to choose for the presidential race. However, it does not always happen that way. Currently, Hillary Clinton has an advantage over Bernie Sanders currently. Donald Trump is favored in the polls as well. However, after last night’s GOP debate, Trump may not continue to be a party favorite.

However, Hillary Clinton was favored over Barack Obama on Super Tuesday eight years ago, so Super Tuesday (while important) is not the deciding factor when it comes to who will be running for the office seat.

What is the SEC Primary?

Super Tuesday is also referred to as the SEC Primary at times. This is because five of the states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee) are a part of the SEC conference. This means that the sports teams at the colleges in their state play in the SEC division.

What’s After Super Tuesday?

Both parties will not nominate an official candidate until July 2016. Other states will hold primaries and caucuses leading up to the official nomination of the candidate. Once a candidate for each party is chosen in July, the “real” race will begin when one Democrat and one Republican will go head-to-head in the race for (arguably) the most powerful position in the world. Republicans will meet in Cleveland in July and the Democrats will meet in Philadelphia to make their final candidate decisions.

Photos: Flickr: Denise Cross (1), DonkeyHotey (2)