Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Labor Standards and Safety Division

The Wage and Hour Administration is providing interactive online seminars starting in January 2020. Seminars covering basic wage and hour laws are offered on the third Tuesday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon, and seminars focused on public construction are now offered on the third Wednesday of each month.
Please contact our office at (907) 269-4900 for registration.
In person seminars are still provided at our Wasilla office.

Office hours

• Anchorage - 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Fairbanks - 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Juneau - 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Please note: Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the Alaska minimum wage is increasing from $9.89 to $10.19 per hour.

• 2020 Minimum Wage Press Release
  
• Update your workplace Summary of Alaska Wage and Hour Act poster here
  

Employment preference update

In October 2019, the Alaska Attorney General issued a formal opinion stating that the Alaska Statutes 36.10.150 of the State’s 90% Employment Preference law, also known as the Alaska Resident Hire law violates both the U.S. and Alaska Constitutions and that the State of Alaska should stop enforcing its provisions. Consequently, the Wage and Hour Section is no longer investigating alleged violations or taking enforcement action related Alaska Resident Hire. Any and all Employment Preference investigations that are opened within the department will be closed.
A copy of the formal opinion is found here: http://law.alaska.gov/pdf/opinions/opinions_2019/19-005_AK-hire.pdf

Wage and Hour Administration

• NEW! Online Wage and Hour Seminar! Call to register: (907) 269-4900
• Title 23 and Child Labor – Third Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon
• Title 36 Public Construction – Third Wednesday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon
• Wasilla Wage and Hour First-Thursday Seminars
• Updated Certified Payroll Forms

Programs

Programs administered by Wage and Hour include: Wage Claims; Minimum Wage and Overtime Enforcement; Child Labor Enforcement; Prevailing Wage Enforcement; Employment Preference Enforcement; Licensing Employment Agencies; Construction Contractor Licensing; and Alaska Family Leave Act.

Services

The Wage and Hour Administration provides sole enforcement of several laws dealing with the payment of wages to workers (wage claims, prevailing wage, minimum wage and overtime). The agency acts on behalf of workers to collect unpaid or underpaid monies from employers through a variety of administrative, quasi-judicial and judicial procedures. The Prevailing Wage program ensures that all contractors working on public construction projects pay the same costs for labor, thereby preventing an unfair competitive advantage based on the use of cheap imported labor. The Construction Contractor Licensing program protects the public from unlicensed, unbonded contractors, while protecting properly licensed contractors from unscrupulous and unfair competition. The agency also oversees the enforcement of child labor laws to insure that minor workers are not exploited; administers the licensing of private employment agencies and oversees their operation; enforces the Alaska Family Leave Act as it applies to public employees; and monitors the employment of workers on public works projects to ensure that resident workers get their fair share of employment.

Email - statewide.wagehour@alaska.gov