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Montana starts 2022 with a new minimum wage

March 2022 employment law letter
Authors: 
Jason S. Ritchie, Ritchie Manning Kautz PLLP

Montana’s minimum wage increased on January 1, 2022, from $8.75 to $9.20 per hour. The $0.45 increase is the largest in 15 years. The new minimum wage applies to every Montana employer, except for farmers and ranchers that pay employees on a fixed rate of compensation.

New rate

Montana voters passed ballot initiative I-156 in 2006, which requires the Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) to adjust the minimum wage each year to account for changes in inflation as reflected in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

The CPI-U increased by 5.25% from August 2020 to August 2021, which equates to an $0.46 per hour increase. Since state law requires the minimum wage to be rounded to the nearest five cents, the increase will be $0.45 per hour to $9.20.

History of Montana and federal minimum wage

The $0.45 per hour increase in 2022 is the largest increase since the new minimum wage calculation was put in place in 2007. This is in stark contrast to the federal minimum wage, which has held at $7.25 since 2009. Here is how Montana’s minimum wage has compared to the federal minimum wage since 2007:

 Year

Montana minium wage

Federal minimum wage

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