Some states may be poised to consider raising their minimum wages in the aftermath of California making the decision to hike its own minimum wage to $10 by the year 2016. At least eight states are contemplating raising their minimum wages. Missouri currently indexes its minimum wage to allow for automatic increases. The index system previously was approved by voters.

No state thus far has increased its minimum wage to the level it advanced in California. Protests have occurred in many locations across the country in which workers clamored for increases in the minimum wage. This has included strikes by fast food workers in different U.S. cities.

States legally cannot set a minimum wage below the federal level or standard. They freely can establish minimum wages at levels higher than that mandated by the federal government, however. President Barack Obama has called for an increase of the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. The House of Representatives is not likely to approve legislation designed to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour.

A Kansas City employment law attorney may assist a client in a number of different ways. For example, a Missouri lawyer may assist a client or clients in a dispute that involves a minimum wage violation. An employment law attorney may also assist a client in regard to matters that include the drafting or review of an employment contract or pursuing a claim or lawsuit based on an allegation of wrongful termination. An attorney may assist a client in obtaining compensation for different types of damages, including lost wages.

Source: USA Today, “Minimum wage hikes possible in many states“, September 17, 2013