Federal Minimum Wage Boosted: The federal minimum...

Federal Minimum Wage Boosted: The federal minimum wage rose to $4.25 an hour, a 45-cent-an-hour increase that will bolster the paychecks of at least 3 million Americans. Unaffected is California, where the state minimum wage has been $4.25 an hour since 1988.The increase in the minimum wage from $3.80 an hour is the second step of a two-part increase Congress enacted in 1989 after a long and fierce battle with the Bush Administration. The first step took effect a year ago, when the minimum wage went to $3.80 an hour from $3.35. It was the first increase in nearly a decade.