The national minimum wage as set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is currently $7.25, but some workers not covered by this law in some states benefit from a higher state-set minimum wage. Unlike the federal law, however, many of the state minimum wages are adjusted annually against the Consumer Price Index, and in 2009 some states actually saw a drop in their index. The result? Some workers in Colorado may actually see a wage cut, albeit small; from $7.28 to $7.25.

There are 14 states and the District of Columbia that have minimum wages above that of the federal government;

• Alaska- $7.75
• Calif.- $8
• Conn.- $8
• District of Columbia- $8.25
• Ill.- $8
• Mass.- $8
• Maine- $7.50
• Mich.- $7.40
• Nev.- $7.55
• N.H.- $7.50
• Ohio- $7.30
• Ore.- $8.40
• R.I.- $7.40
• Vt.- $8.06
• Wash.- $8.55

Also, in some states, local communities are allowed to set their own minimum wages, the result of which is that the highest minimum wage in the country today is in Santa Fe, at $9.92.

Of these states, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Vermont and Washington have adjustment clauses that might be bad news for workers if the cost of living figures actually decline. Fortunately, the law in most of these states keeps the local minimum wage from falling below that of the federal minimum.

The state minimum wage only applies to those workers not covered by the FLSA, usually those working for companies that do no interstate business and have overall sales under half a million dollars.