Minimum wage workers in Wash­ington State got a pay raise on New Year's Day when the state's mini­mum wage minimum wage increased from $9.19 to $9.32/hr. It appears that thirteen other states raised their minimum wage as well -- by as much as $1/ hr in New Jersey. That said, Washington still holds the #1 spot for highest mini­mum wage in the U.S. fol­lowed by Oregon at $9.10/ hr.

Here's a brief history lesson on minimum wage. (Feel free to skip the next few paragraphs if you want to get right to the fun stuff.) According to the Depart­ment of Labor website, minimum wage began with the Fair Lab...