Voters in Nevada recently approved a constitutional amendment that will increase the minimum wage, eliminate the annual inflation adjustments that are currently in place for the minimum wage, and permit the state legislature to enact minimum wage laws that will change Nevada’s minimum pay in the future. The Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA) was added to the Nevada Constitution in 2006, and it established a two-tiered minimum wage system. Under this system, employers who provide succeeding health benefits to their employees are eligible to pay a lower minimum wage than those who do not. This two-tiered system is eliminated by the constitutional amendment, which repeals the Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA). Nevada is the only state in the country with a two-tiered minimum wage system. According to proponents of the constitutional amendment, switching to a singular Nevada minimum wage 2023 hourly would increase Nevada’s competitiveness vis-à-vis other states.
Changes to the Daily and Weekly Overtime Timetables
Employers in Nevada should be cognizant of the scheduled annual increases to the state’s minimum wage in 2023 and 2024, prior to the enactment of the constitutional amendment in 2024. According to the current two-tiered system, the minimum wage for employees who receive succeeding health benefits will increase to $10.25/hour on July 1, 2023, and then to $11.00/hour on July 1, 2024. Beginning on July 1, 2023, the minimum hourly wage for laborers who do not receive succeeding health benefits will increase to $11.25 per hour. On July 1, 2024, the following year, the minimum wage will increase to $12 per hour.
Health benefits with a lower minimum wage
Employers will no longer be required to calculate two separate rates, one for employees offered succeeding health benefits with a lower minimum wage and another for employees not offered succeeding health benefits with a higher minimum wage, as a result of the upcoming changes to the Nevada Constitution. Nevada’s minimum wage is also tied to an overtime obligations of an employer, which are generally determined by whether an employee earns 1 to 12 times the minimum wage and governs whether an employee is qualified for daily or weekly overtime. To ensure compliance with Nevada’s minimum wage and overtime regulations, employers should verify with their payroll divisions or payroll handling providers to ensure that the time worked by their employees, including daily overtime, has been accurately recorded.
Each of these recent cases involving wage and hour claims resulted in an en banc opinion from the Nevada Supreme Court, which means that the cases were heard in front of the entire court and that the opinion was written by the Honorable Justice Stiglich. As a consequence of her interest in wage and hour issues, we anticipate additional opinions from Justice Stiglich concerning Nevada’s wage and hour statutes.
As the Nevada Legislature prepares for another legislative session in 2023, TALG will continue to evaluate all employment and workplace regulations affecting its Nevada clients. This is done to ensure that our clients can effectively prepare for and adapt to these laws.
