Nutmeg State Sees Minimum Wage Boost

The new year brought a 25-cent increase for minimum-wage workers in Connecticut.

As of Jan. 1, 2010, minimum wage in the Nutmeg State now stands at $8.25 per hour, up 25 cents from last year's $8 rate. The raise is the second part of a two-year increase in accordance with Public Act 09-92.

While the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25, all Connecticut businesses must pay the state's minimum wage. Rates are slightly different for wait and bar staff; their pay is determined by a formula that takes into consideration tip deduction.

Alaska also saw a wage increase of 50 cents to $7.75. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have kept a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum.

Colorado's minimum wage dropped three cents, from $7.28 to $7.25. The decrease comes as the result of a drop in the state's consumer price index, and it's the first decrease in any state's minimum wage since the federal minimum was first adopted in 1938.

A full list of current minimum wage rates across the country is available on the U.S. Department of Labor website.