Minimum-wage workers in 20 states and the District of Columbia will see a pay raise Jan. 1, 2015. Those increases won't help hourly employees in Alabama, however.

Federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25 per hour but states have the ability to increase that amount. That's what's happened in 20 states and the District of Columbia, where as many as 3.1 million workers will receive an average $1 per hour increase, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

In nine of these states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington) the increase comes due to inflation increases. The increase in the 11 other states, plus DC, are the result of legislation passed either by state lawmakers or voters.

The increases range from a 12-cent inflation adjustment in Florida - raising the minimum to $8.05 - up to a $1.25 increase in South Dakota that will lift the state floor to $8.50. The increase will make Washington state's rate of $9.47 the highest, followed by Oregon at $9.25 and Vermont and Connecticut at $9.15.

Among those states hiking the minimum wage, Washington state's will be highest. Oregon's is next at $9.25., followed by Vermont and Connecticut at $9.15. Massachusetts and Rhode Island will have $9 minimum wages. Those amounts are still behind the $10.10 proposed by President Obama, however.

Alabama is one of a handful of states without a state minimum wage law, meaning the federal rate applies to all but the smallest businesses. The $7.25 per hour translates to about $15,080 for a full-time, year-round worker.

Here's what else is going on around Alabama's political scene: