States may adopt minimum wage requirements as long as they are not inconsistent with the federal requirement. In other words, these laws cannot reduce the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Some states track the federal minimum wage, while others cover workers not covered under the FLSA. Some also set higher minimum wages than the federal rate.

• Several states recognize the value of the federal minimum wage has been declining and have taken steps to ensure the minimum wage in their state supports working families. Every year, state legislatures consider minimum wage increases. In 2005, state minimum wage legislation or ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage are active in Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. In addition, 15 states and the District of Columbia have set minimum wage rates above the federal floor.  
  
  
• One purpose of the federal minimum wage law is to establish a national floor below which workers’ wages cannot fall. While states can raise their minimum wage rates above the federal level, there always will be a need for regular increases in the federal minimum wage, our nation’s wage floor.
  
  
• It is time to raise the federal minimum wage. Perpetual failure to raise the federal minimum wage will make the federal standard essentially meaningless.