• Alaska's non-exempt workers are protected by Statutes 23.10.050 through 23.10.150.alaska image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
  
  Alaska's labor laws are defined under Title 23 (Labor and Workers' Compensation) of the Alaska Statutes (AS). AS 23.10.50 through AS 23.10-150 stipulate Alaska's wage and hour guidelines. Employees that are not classified as exceptions to the wage and hour guidelines are defined as non-exempt employees. Employers are required to comply with the minimum wage and overtime provisions when paying their non-exempt employees.
  
  

Minimum Wage

• AS 23.10.065(a) identifies Alaska's minimum wage rate as of December 31, 2009. It stipulates that subsequent increases are to be at least 50 cents greater than the federal minimum wage rate. On January 1, 2010, Alaska's rate was increased to $7.75 per hour. Alaskan workers that are not subject to the minimum wage regulations are classified as exceptions. Alaska's Wage and Hour Administration provides a list of minimum wage exceptions on its Minimum Wage Standard and Overtime Hours page.
  
  

Overtime

• AS 23-10-060(a) establishes eight hours of work as one day of labor, and it limits a week of labor to 40 hours. AS 23-10-60(b) requires employers to pay an overtime premium to non-exempt employees that exceeds the number of hours in a work day or in a work week. The employee is to be compensated at a rate of one and one half time the regular rate of pay for the additional hours. The Minimum Wage Standard and Overtime Hours page contains a list of exceptions that are not subject to the overtime regulations.
  
  

Payment of Wages

• Alaska Statute 23.05.160 requires employers to provide new employees with written documentation of their rate of pay along with the day and place of payment. If the terms of payment change, employers are required to notify their employees in advance. The notification is to be made no later than the payday prior to the date when the change goes into effect. Posting the notification in a highly visible and commonly used area meets the statutes notification guidelines.
  
  

Wage Claims

• The enactment of wage and hour laws is not always a deterrent to neglectful or illegal employer behavior. If a non-exempt employee finds that he was paid less than the minimum wage or was not properly compensated for overtime, he has the right to ask the employer to correct the shortage. If the employer does not honor the request, the employee has the options of pursuing the issue in court or filing a wage claim with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD). AS 23.10.080 provides the DOLWD with sufficient powers to investigate and resolve valid claims for unpaid wages.