Mo. minimum wage to rise Jan. 1

The Missouri Department of Labor established the state’s minimum wage for 2015 at $7.65 per hour.

The new hourly rate becomes effective Jan. 1. Excluded from paying the minimum are retail and service businesses with annual gross sales less than $500,000, according to a news release.

The 2014 rate is $7.50 per hour, above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Starting Jan. 1, compensation for tipped employees must also equal out to at least $7.75 per hour. Employers with tipped employees are required to pay at least 50 percent of the minimum wage, or the amount necessary to bring it up to minimum, according to the release.

Missouri’s minimum wage is calculated once a year and adjusted based on the cost of living measured by the previous year’s Consumer Price Index.