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Alabama Minimum Wage Rate

Alabama does not have a state minimum wage law. As a result, employers must comply with federal minimum wage requirements.

Contact the Alabama Department of Labor for more information. 

Alaska Minimum Wage 

The Alaska Wage and Hour Act (AWHA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever both state and federal laws apply, employers must follow the law that provides the greatest benefit or highest protection to employees. 

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (ADLWD) enforces compliance with the AWHA throughout the state. 

Minimum Wage Rate

Under the AWHA, the state rate must be at least one dollar higher than the federal minimum wage rate. This state rate is also adjusted annually to reflect the cost of inflation. The table below provides an overview of how the state minimum wage rate has changed over the last few years.

Finally, the AWHA indicates that unless a term is specifically defined under state law, employers should interpret wage and hour provisions according to the definitions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Wages for Work Therapy

State law authorizes the ADLWD to set a lower minimum wage rate for individuals who participate in work therapy that is part of a residential drug abuse or alcoholism treatment program. These programs must be designed to extend more than 120 days. In determining whether these programs qualify for a lower minimum wage rate, it is considered whether the work performed by the patient:

• Is solely for the benefit of the patient and is ordinarily carried on by patients in a residential treatment program;
• Would ordinarily be performed by full-time employees of the program;
• Is work that may produce income to the patient, other than wages;
• Produces compensation for goods or services that will economically or otherwise benefit the owners, operators or businesses of the rehabilitation program; and
• Creates an unfair competition with private enterprises because of lower wage standards.

Other Subminimum Wage Rates

The ADLWD may authorize employers to pay wages below the minimum wage rate to:

• Apprentices;
• Learners; and
• Individuals employed by a nonprofit organization for not more than 12 weeks in a calendar year at a residential summer camp who receive room and board in addition to a weekly wage that is equal to or greater than
  • 80% of the minimum hourly wage, multiplied by 40 hours; or
  • 50% of the minimum wage multiplied by the total hours they worked in the week.

More Information

Contact the Alaska Division of Labor Standards and Safety for more information.

Arizona Minimum Wage

The Arizona Minimum Wage Act (AMWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies.

The Arizona Labor Department, part of the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), enforces these requirements throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

Arizona’s minimum wage rate is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living each, as shown in the table below. However, employers should be mindful of local laws, ordinances and any rule or regulation that may increase an employee’s minimum wage rate. Unlike many other state minimum wage laws, the AMWA does not allow employers to pay subminimum wages for certain employee categories, such as young workers, students or apprentices.

Tipped Employees

Arizona allows employers to pay a lower minimum wage to tipped employees. This rate, also known as the cash wage, is calculated by subtracting the $3 state tip credit from the current minimum wage rate.

The law allows employers to use a $3 per hour tip credit because it assumes that an employee’s tips will be sufficient to enable the employee to receive wages at, or above, the state’s minimum wage rate. Employers that want to use the tip credit must notify their employees in writing and upon hire that their wages are calculated using tips, a tip credit and a cash wage. Employers must subsidize their tipped employees’ each time their tips are insufficient to meet minimum wage requirements.

A tipped employee is an individual who is engaged in an occupation in which tips or gratuities are customarily exchanged for services. Tip credit provisions are available to tipped employees only during the hours they actually work in a tipped occupation. The tip credit does not apply for the hours an employee works in non-tipped occupations, such as maintenance and general preparation work.

More Information

Contact the Industrial Commission of Arizona for more information.   

Arkansas Minimum Wage

The Minimum Wage Act of the State of Arkansas (MWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies. 

The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (ADLL) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The current minimum wage rate in Arkansas is $11 per hour. This rate became effective on Jan. 1, 2021. Lower minimum wage rates are authorized for certain employees.

Employers must comply with the MWA if they employ four or more employees. The MWA defines an employer as any individual, partnership, association, corporation or business trust as well as public employers, including the State of Arkansas and any political subdivision of the state.

FLSA Incorporated by Reference

The MWA has specifically adopted by reference multiple FLSA minimum wage provisions. This means that unless a specific state provision applies, employers must comply with FLSA minimum wage requirements.

The ADLL may rely on U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) interpretations and federal precedent established under the FLSA when applying and enforcing minimum wage laws.

Tipped Employees 

Under the MWA, tipped employees must earn wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage. Tipped employee wages are calculated by adding a cash wage to the tips and gratuities tipped employees earn. The cash wage in Arkansas is $2.63 per hour. 

Employers must add to a tipped employee’s wages when the employee’s tips—when added to the cash wage—are insufficient to allow the employee to earn wages that are at least equal to the minimum wage rate. The ADLL advises employers to maintain accurate wage records to prove compliance with tipped employee minimum wage requirements. 

Tipped employee provisions under the MWA apply only for the hours an employee works in an occupation where tips and gratuities are “customarily and usually” recognized as part of the remuneration for hiring purposes. Tipped occupations include waiters, waitresses, bellhops, beauty operators and barbers, provided they actually receive and retain tips. For any other occupation, tips are customarily and usually recognized as part of the remuneration for hiring purposes if the employee actually receives more than $20 per month in tips. 

Employers must use the state minimum wage rate (not the tipped employee rate) to compensate employees whenever they are required to work 20 minutes or more in any occupation where gratuities have not been recognized as part of the remuneration for hiring purposes. 

“Gratuities” means “voluntary monetary contributions received by an employee from a guest, patron, or customer for services rendered.”

Employees With Disabilities 

Employers may receive temporary special exemption licenses or permits to pay a lower minimum wage rate to certain employees with disabilities. Under the MWA, employees are considered to have a disability if they are “handicapped by lack of skill, age, or physical or mental deficiency or injury in any way that [their] earning capacity is impaired.” 

Permits for employees with disabilities may be obtained from the ADLL or the DOL. The ADLL may issue permits for individuals or for work activities centers, defined as “centers planned and designed exclusively to provide therapeutic activities for handicapped clients whose physical and mental impairment is so severe as to make their productivity capacities inconsequential.” 

Employers that pay their employees a lower minimum wage as authorized by a special permit must comply with all the terms and requirements specified by the permit. 

Learners, Apprentices and Full-time Students 

The MWA allows employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to learners, apprentices and full-time students. This lower minimum wage rate must be authorized by a special license issued by the ADLL. 

Learners and apprentices must have a current and valid subminimum wage DOL certification and must receive wages that are at least equal to 85% of the state’s minimum wage rate. 

Similarly, employers may pay full-time students a subminimum wage if: 

• The subminimum wage is at least equal to 85% of the applicable minimum wage rate;
• The employer obtains, prior to employing full-time students at a subminimum wage, a full-time student subminimum wage certificate (issued by the ADLL or the DOL);
• The full-time student attends an accredited institution of education within the state of Arkansas on a full-time basis in accordance with the institution’s definitions;
• The employer does not employ the student more than 20 hours per week during times school is in session and not more than 40 hours per week during times school is not in session; and
• The employer does not employ the student in violation of any applicable child labor laws.

For purposes of the MWA, a full-time student retains that status during the student’s winter, summer and other vacations. Finally, employers should note that a full-time student residing in a border town may attend an accredited institution of education within the border sister state on a full-time basis and qualify for the sub-minimum wage if all other qualifications are met.

More Information

Please contact the ADLL for more information. 

California Minimum Wage Rates

Under California law, “employee wages” include the entire amount of compensation employees receive for their labor or services. Wages may be fixed or based on time, task, piece, commission or other factors.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, California’s minimum wage rate no longer depends on employer size and will be adjusted annually to account for the cost of inflation. The table below outlines recent minimum wage rates and their respective effective dates. Employers should note that California law allows the governor to temporarily suspend a rate increase if the state’s economic condition does not support it.

Local Minimum Wage Rates

The tables below provide an overview of California's minimum wage. Click on the links provided for posters and additional wage information, including certain details on coverage, exemptions, tips, deductions, and immigration status. 

January Updates

July Updates

Tipped Employee Wages

California law does not allow employers to deduct any tip credits from their employees’ wages or to pay tipped employees less than the state minimum wage rate. Tip payments include any tip, gratuity, money or other gift a patron gives an employee over and above the actual amount of the goods, food, drink, items or services the patron received from that business.

Employees with Disabilities

California law no longer allows employers to  pay wages below the state’s minimum wage rate to employees with mental or physical disabilities. In addition, the state’s Department of Industrial Relations stopped issuing new subminimum wage licenses on Jan. 1, 2022. However, employers with current licenses may be allowed to renew existing licenses under limited conditions.

Nevertheless, California will continue to allow nonprofit organizations, such as sheltered workshops and rehabilitation facilities, to pay subminimum wage rates to employees with disabilities without requiring individual licenses of these employees until Jan. 1, 2025. 

The bill that repealed subminimum wages also requires the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, in consultation with stakeholders and relevant state agencies, to develop a multiyear phaseout plan so that subminimum wages for workers with disabilities cease by Jan. 1, 2025.

Students and Learners

California law allows employers operating an organized camp to pay their student-employees, camp counselors and program counselors as low as 85% of the state minimum wage rate. These employers may also deduct the entire value of meals and lodging they provide to these employees.

In addition, employers may obtain special DLSE licenses that allow them to pay their employees a wage as low as 85% of the state’s minimum wage rate for each of their first 160 hours of employment in occupations in which they have no previous similar or related experience.

More Information

Contact the California Department of Industrial Relations for more information.    

Colorado Minimum Wage Rate

In Colorado, minimum wage is governed by both the Colorado Wage Act (CWA) and rules issued by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE). If an employee is covered by multiple federal, state, or local overtime wage rules, the requirement providing the higher wage or standard applies. Under the FLSA, when both federal and state law apply, employers must comply with the law that provides the greatest benefit or protection to their employees.

Minimum Wage

Wages are defined as the entire amount of compensation an employee receives for his or her labor or services. This includes bonuses, commissions, paid sick leave (if paid under the Colorado Health Families and Workplaces Act) and vacation pay, but does not include severance pay. Wages may be fixed or based on time, task, piece, commission or other method.

Under Colorado’s Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS) 38 the state’s minimum wage will be adjusted and set annually under the state’s Publication And Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation (PAY CALC).  Minimum wage calculations take into account Colorado’s consumer price index (CPI).

The Colorado tip credit is $3.02. Subtracting the tip credit from the state minimum wage rate yields the tipped employee cash wage. The rate for nonemancipated minors is 85% of the state minimum wage rate.

With limited exceptions and exemptions (as discussed below), state minimum wage rate generally applies to any employee who performs labor or services for the benefit of an employer, including any migratory laborer.  

To determine whether any individual is an “employee” employers must consider the degree of control they exercise over the person and the degree to which the individual performs work that is the primary work of the employer. Under state law, an individual is not an employee if he or she is:

• Primarily free from control and direction in the performance of the services he or she provides; and
•  Customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession or business related to the service.

When calculating an employee’s wages, the CWA allows employers to take credits for lodging (reasonable cost or fair market value, up to $25 per week for a room; $100 per week for a private residence) and meals accepted voluntarily (reasonable cost or fair market value, without profit to the employer).

Tipped Employees

Tipped employees are individuals engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive at least $1.64 per hour in tips (averaged over any one calendar month or 30 days, whichever is longer). Tipped employee wages consist of a cash wage plus all the tips employees receive in the performance of their services. Tips include any amount designated as a tip by credit card customers on their charge slips.

State law allows employers to pay tipped employees a cash wage because it assumes that employee tips will make up the difference between the cash wage and the minimum wage rate, allowing the employee to receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate. Employers must subsidize a tipped employee’s wages beyond the cash wage if, for any reason, the employee’s tips fall below the tip credit.

Colorado prohibits employers from denying their tipped employees the presents, tips or gratuities that they earn through their service.

Employers can implement a tip pooling system among their employees only if they notify their patrons of that a tip pooling or sharing arrangement exists in the establishment. The notification must be in writing. Acceptable written notification forms include menu notices, table tents and receipt notices. Employers that do not provide this notice violate Colorado’s minimum wage law and cannot claim to have the right to own or control any gratuities patrons give to tipped employees. In addition, employers that require their employees to participate in a tip-sharing program that involves non-tipped employees (for example, managers and food preparers) cannot count employee tips toward their employee’s minimum wage.

Minors

Minors who are authorized to work under child labor laws may receive a subminimum wage rate as low as 85% of the applicable minimum wage rate, unless they are emancipated minors.

An emancipated minor’s wages must be at least equal to the current minimum wage. An emancipated minor is an individual under 18 years of age who:

• Supports himself or herself financially;
• Is married and living away from his or her parents or guardian; and
• Is able to show that his or her well-being is substantially dependent on his or her job.

Employees with Disabilities

On July 1, 2021, in order to  promote economic justice, enhance self-sufficiency and encourage competitive integrated employment Colorado repealed a law that permitted employers to pay subminimum wage rates to employees with a disability.

As a result, employers must compensate employees with disabilities with wages that are at least equal to the minimum wage rate.

An exception still applies to employers that hold a subminimum wage certificate issued before June 30, 2021. Employers that hold these certificates must submit data to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) regarding the employees paid under those certificates. By June 30, 2022, employers must submit to the HCPF a transition plan detailing how they expect to phase out all employees currently paid under a special certificate by July 1, 2025.

More Information

Contact the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment for more information.  

Delaware Minimum Wage

The Delaware Minimum Wage Act (DMWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law most favorable to the employee will apply.

The Delaware Department of Labor (DDOL) enforces compliance with the DMWA throughout the state. Nothing in this document is meant to interfere with, impede or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing to establish wages or other conditions of work that go above and beyond the requirements described below. 

Minimum Wage Rates

Employees in Delaware must receive wages that are at or above the state minimum wage rate. The DMWA has established the following minimum wage rate increases:  

Tipped Employee Wages

The DMWA allows employers to pay tipped employees a lower minimum wage rate. This lower tipped rate is also known as a cash wage. The DMWA allows for this lower rate because it assumes that the tipped rate, when combined with the employees’ tips or gratuities, will allow employees to receive wages at or above the state minimum wage rate. The minimum cash wage payable to tipped employees in Delaware is $2.23 per hour.

Employers may not take or retain any tips received by tipped employees unless an exception applies. Under certain conditions, tip pooling is permitted in an amount not to exceed 15% of the actual tips received by employees. 

Tipped employees are employees who are engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips or gratuities. Gratuities under the DMWA are monetary contributions received directly or indirectly by an employee from a guest, patron or customer for services rendered; the customer is entirely free to determine whether to make any payment at all and, if so, the amount.

Training and Youth Wage

The DMWA allows employers to pay new employees a minimum wage 50 cents lower than the state minimum wage rate during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of their employment.

Similarly, employers can pay youth employees (employees under the age of 18) a wage rate 50 cents lower than the state minimum wage rate.

Employees With Disabilities

On Oct. 20, 2021, Delaware repealed a provision that enabled employers to pay wages below the state’s minimum wage rate to employees who are mentally or physically disabled or both.

Until this repeal, state law allowed employers to compensate individuals with a physical or mental disability at a wage rate lower than the state’s minimum wage rate. To qualify for this subminimum wage exemption, employers were first required to obtain special wage certificates. They were then required to follow all terms and conditions of these wage certificates.

Delaware has announced the state will phase out the authorization for employers to compensate employees with disabilities at subminimum wage rates. The phaseout plan is set to be completed by Jan. 31, 2024. The state legislature has charged the state’s Employment First Oversight Commission with the task of creating the phaseout plan.

Student Learners and Apprentices

Through a public hearing process, the DDOL may approve a different minimum wage rate for learners and apprentices.

More Information 

Contact the DDOL for more information

District of Columbia Minimum Wage

District of Columbia law complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. When employers are subject to both the District of Columbia and federal laws, the law most favorable to the employee will apply.

The District of Columbia’s Department of Employment Services (DOES) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims for employers and employees within the district. The information in this document is not meant to interfere with, impede or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work that go above and beyond the standards applicable under the provisions of the law.

Minimum Wage Rates

Under the laws of the District of Columbia, employers must compensate their employees in the district with wages that are at least equal to the district’s minimum wage rate. Employers that must comply with these rates include any individual, firm, association or corporation that uses the services of another individual for pay in the District of Columbia (except for district or federal government agencies).

For wage purposes, individuals are considered to be employed in the District of Columbia when:

• They regularly spend more than 50% of their working time in the District of Columbia; or
• Their employment is based in the District of Columbia, and they regularly spend a substantial amount of their working time in the District of Columbia and not more than 50% of their time in any particular state.

The table below provides an overview of the District of Columbia’s minimum wage rate. The minimum wage rate in the District of Columbia is adjusted annually to reflect the cost of inflation.

Under district law, “employee wages” include the entire amount of compensation employees receive for their labor or services. Wages may be fixed or based on time, task, piece, commission or other factors. Employee wages are all compensation due to employees by reason of employment, including allowances that are permitted by law.

Tipped Employees

As shown above, the District of Columbia has a different minimum wage rate for tipped employees. This rate is also known as the service rate. Employers are required to pay wages to their tipped employees that are at least equal to the district’s service rate.

Employers are allowed to pay a lower minimum wage rate to tipped employees because the law assumes the tipped employee’s wages, when combined with the employee’s tips, will be enough to allow the employee to receive wages at or above the District of Columbia’s minimum wage rate. However, employers are required to pay for the difference when an employee’s hourly tip earnings (averaged weekly) when added to the service rate do not equal the minimum wage.   

A tipped employee is an employee that receives gratuities or tips (voluntary monetary contributions) from a guest, patron or customer for services rendered.

Employers in the District of Columbia are required to advise their tipped employees of the district’s regulations for service work and the service rate. Employers must also inform tipped employees how their wages will be determined.

Employers with tipped employees must submit a quarterly wage report within 30 days of the end of each quarter to certify their tipped employees were paid the required minimum wage. The District of Columbia has created a reporting portal employers must use to submit these reports unless they can demonstrate that using the online portal creates a hardship. Employers may complete these reports themselves, or they may do it through the third-party entity that processes their payroll.

Additional requirements may apply to tip-pooling arrangements and tipped employees in specific industries.

Initiative 82 – Repealing the Tipped Employee Wage

On Nov. 8, 2022, voters in the District of Columbia approved Initiative 82, a ballot measure that repeals the tipped employee minimum wage. As a result, the minimum wage for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) will gradually increase until it matches the district’s minimum wage rate on July 1, 2027. The district’s current minimum wage rate is $16.10 per hour. The cash wage in the District of Columbia is set to increase as follows:

• On May 1, 2023, the cash wage will increase to $6 per hour. 
• On July 1, 2023, the cash wage will increase to $8 per hour. 
• On July 1, 2024, the cash wage will increase to $10 per hour. 
• On July 1, 2025, the cash wage will increase to $12 per hour. 
• On July 1, 2026, the cash wage will increase to $14 per hour. 
• On July 1, 2027, the cash wage will increase to match the district’s minimum wage rate.

However, the tipped wage increase schedule does not apply to District of Columbia employees or to individuals who work under contracts with the district. These individuals will continue to receive wages as required by the Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992 and the requirements of all other applicable laws, regulations or policies relating to wages or benefits, including the Living Wage Act of 2006.

More Information

D.C. law imposes additional requirements on employers of tipped employees. For more information, please contact the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services.

Florida Minimum Wage Rate

Florida law supplements federal regulations and in some instances provides more stringent requirements that employers must follow. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) enforces and investigates wage and hour violation claims in the state.

Minimum Wage

On Nov. 3, 2020, voters in Florida approved a constitutional amendment that will raise the state minimum wage rate each year until it reaches $15 per hour in 2026. The amendment did not change the tip credit Florida allows employers to deduct from their tipped employees. Since this credit will remain at $3.02, projected minimum wage rates for tipped employees are also included in the table below.

Beginning in 2027, the state minimum wage rate will be adjusted annually by the DEO. The Florida Minimum Wage Act (FMWA) requires the DEO to calculate a minimum wage rate each year, based on the rate of inflation for the previous 12-month period.

Florida has adopted FLSA exemptions for minimum wage payment requirements. These exemptions allow employers to pay certain individuals at rates below the minimum wage rate.

Georgia Minimum Wage Rate

The Georgia Minimum Wage Law (GMWL) supplements federal regulations and, in some instances, provides more stringent requirements that employers must follow. The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) directs individuals to address their wage and hour concerns to the United States Department of Labor (DOL).

Minimum Wage Rate

The Georgia minimum wage rate is $5.15 per hour, and applies to employees only to employees exempt from the federal minimum wage rate. For this reason, most employees in Georgia are subject to the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.

For More Information

Contact the GDOL for more information. 

Hawaii Minimum Wage

Hawaii law complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law most favorable to the employee will apply.

The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (HDLIR) enforces compliance with minimum wage requirements and investigates violation claims.

Minimum wage pay requirements cannot be contravened or set aside by private agreements.

Workers With Disabilities

Hawaii has repealed the ability of employers in the state to pay lower wage rates to employees with disabilities. As a result, employers in Hawaii are now required to pay their disabled employees a wage rate at or above the minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employee Wages

Hawaii employers may pay a lower cash wage to their tipped employees. Tipped employees are employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $20 a month in tips. However, employers may take the tip credit only if the combined amount tipped employees receive from cash wages and tips is at least $7 more than the applicable minimum wage.

The cash wage is the difference between the state’s minimum wage and the allowed tip credit. The tip credit is scheduled to increase as shown in the table below. For additional information, employers may consult this HDLIR notice.

Under state law, a hotel that applies a service charge for porterage services must distribute the service charge directly to its employees as tip income or clearly disclose to the purchaser of the services that the service charge is being used to pay for costs or expenses other than wages and tips of employees. “Porterage” means the act of moving luggage, bags, or parcels between a guest room and a lobby, front desk or any area with vehicular access at a hotel, hotel-condominium or condominium-hotel.

More Information

Please visit the HDLIR for more information. 

Idaho Minimum Wage

The minimum wage rate in Idaho is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate--$7.25 per hour,

Tipped Employees

The minimum wage rate for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) is $3.35 per hour. Tipped employees are individuals who are engaged in an occupation where they customarily receive at least $30 a month in tips. Employers must ensure that their tipped employees tips and cash wage combined allow them to earn wages that are at least equal to the state's minimum wage rate. 

More Information

• Idaho Minimum Wage Information  
• Idaho Department of Labor

Illinois Minimum Wage

The Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow.

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) enforces the IMWL and investigates violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rate

The table below provides an overview of scheduled minimum wage rate increases for the state of Illinois. The state wage rate is set to increase gradually until it reaches $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025.

To determine an employee’s wage rate, employers must consider that employee’s entire compensation, including wages, gratuities and any credit the IDOL allows for meals, lodging and other facilities. Allowances for supply, maintenance or laundering of required uniforms are not permitted as part of the calculation of an employee’s minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employees and Gratuities

The tipped rate applies to employees who customarily receive at least $20 in gratuities per month.

The gratuities patrons or clients give to employees are considered the property of the employees. Employers are prohibited from keeping these gratuities and need to deliver them to their employees no later than 13 days after the end of the pay period in which the gratuities are earned.

However, when gratuities are paid by credit card, employers are allowed to withhold an amount proportionate to the processing fee the employer must pay in connection with the credit card transaction. This withholding cannot exceed the tip-to-bill ratio. This means that the employer’s transaction fee withholding for a 10% tip cannot be more than 10% of the fee the employer will pay for processing that credit card transaction.

Finally, these regulations do not restrict an employer’s ability to establish a tip pooling program within the state.

Youth Wage

The youth wage applies to employees under 18 years of age working fewer than 650 hours per calendar year. Minors who work more than 650 hours during any calendar year must be paid the state regular wage rate. 

New Employee Wage

The IMWL allows employers to pay a new employees over the age of 18 a minimum wage rate that is 50 cents per hour lower than the state minimum wage rate during the employees’ first 90 days of employment. After this initial employment period, employees must receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate, unless an exception applies.

The new employee wage rate does not apply to individuals who are 18 years of age or older if they:

• Are day laborers or temporary workers; or
• Have occasional or irregular employment that requires more than 90 days to complete.

Learners

Employers may pay learners over the age of 18 a wage rate as low as $5.77 per hour (or 70% of the applicable minimum wage rate) if they have a learner subminimum wage license. Employers can pay these wages to a learner employee for up to six months or as long as the employee is still considered a learner (whichever comes first). 

Learners are individuals who are participating in a training program for an occupation for which they were hired. These programs usually include formal instruction or on-the-job training during a predetermined period of limited responsibility and regular supervision or guidance. Student learners are individuals who receive course credit for participation in a school-approved work-study program.

An individual is not a learner after he or she completes the training required for his or her position. After learners complete their training, they must receive wages at or above the state minimum wage rate. The IDOL may extend a training period over the six-month period for employers that can prove that sufficient proficiency in a particular occupation cannot be acquired within six months.

Subminimum wage learner licenses are available to employees that can prove to the IDOL that a learning program:

• Exists to allow employees to acquire the skill necessary for their occupation of choice;
• Does not displace other workers; and
• Does not tend to impair or depress the wage rates or working standards established for experienced workers that perform similar work to the learners.

Individuals Impaired by Age or with a Physical or Mental Disability

The IMWL requires employers to obtain a license to pay subminimum wages to disabled individuals. Subminimum wage licenses for disabled individuals are valid for one year and must be signed by the employer and the disabled employee. Employers can pay disabled employees a subminimum wage only through the period specified in the license.

Subminimum wage licenses for disabled individuals are not available for employees who, in spite of their disability, maintain a production level within the limits required of other employees. The IDOL will allow employers to recommend a subminimum wage rate for disabled employees commensurate to the employees’ productivity. The IDOL will consider the average wage paid to non-disabled employees who have similar responsibilities and work under similar conditions to determine whether the proposed subminimum wage is reasonable.

Employers can apply for license renewal every year. The renewal follows the same process and uses the same criteria as the application process.

More Information

Please contact the Illinois Department of labor for more information.  

Minimum Wage in Indiana

The minimum wage rate in Indiana is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate--$7.25 per hour,

Tipped Employees

Generally, employers must pay tipped employees at least $2.13 per hour if the employer claims a tip credit. If the employee’s tips combined with the hourly wage do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Training Wage

Indiana employers may pay $4.25 per hour to employees under 20 years of age for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is initially employed by the employer.

More Information

• Indiana Minimum Wage Information
• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division

Iowa Minimum Wage 

Federal minimum wage law is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Iowa wage laws complement federal law and, in some cases, prescribe more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law that provides the greater protection to the employee will apply. 

The Iowa Division of Labor (IDOL), part of the Iowa Workforce Development Department, enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Employers Subject to Minimum Wage Laws

Employers with annual gross sales or a business transaction volume of $300,000 or more are subject to Iowa’s minimum wage laws, regardless of whether they are public, private, for-profit or nonprofit entities. Employers with a sales or transaction volume of less than $300,000 are exempt from state minimum wage requirements, unless they are a “named enterprise.” Named enterprises include:

• Public agencies;
• Schools, preschools and institutions of higher learning;
• Public transportation subject to state or local regulation;
• Most daycares;
• Employers engaged in construction;
• Employers engaged in laundry or dry cleaning; and
• Hospitals and residential care facilities for the sick, elderly, mentally or physically handicapped or gifted children.

Minimum wage laws also apply to domestic service employees who receive wages of at least $100 during a calendar year or work for more than eight hours during any workweek. Independent contractors and certain owner-operators of trucks, road tractors or truck tractors are not subject to Iowa’s minimum wage laws.

Minimum Wage Rate

Employers subject to Iowa’s minimum wage laws must pay their employees a wage rate of at least $7.25 per hour or the federal wage rate, whichever is higher.

Employee wages are defined as the entire amount of compensation the employee receives for his or her labor or services, including bonuses and commissions. Wages can be fixed or based on time, task, production, commission or other method.

Travel Time

In general, employers are not required to compensate their employees for any time they spend commuting to and from work if:

• Transportation is provided as a convenience for employees;
• Employees do not work during the commute;
• No collective bargaining agreement requires compensation for travel; and
• Employer-supplied transportation is not required to report to work.

Employers must compensate their employees for any time they spend traveling between worksites during working hours.

Boarding, Lodging and Facilities Credit

Employers can claim a boarding, lodging and facilities credit when calculating an employee’s wage rate. The credit is available if boarding, lodging or facility costs are customarily furnished by the employer to its employees and not excluded from employee wages by a collective bargaining agreement. In some instances, the LSD has determined the maximum credit employers can claim for these services.

Initial Employment Wage Rate

Employers can pay a subminimum wage rate of $6.35 per hour to their employees during the first 90 days of employment. After this 90-day period, employers must pay their employees a wage rate at least equal to the state minimum wage rate.

Employers cannot terminate and rehire employees solely to take advantage of the 90-day initial employment wage rate. Employers must credit toward the 90-day period any number of days rehired employees have worked for them during the previous three years.

Tipped Employees

A tipped employee is an individual engaged in an occupation where he or she customarily and regularly receives at least $30 per month in tips.  A tipped employee’s wages consist of a service rate plus all the tips the employee receives in the performance of his or her services. The service rate in Iowa is $4.35 per hour, calculated by subtracting the tip credit from the minimum wage rate. The tip credit in Iowa is 40% of the minimum wage rate.

Iowa law allows employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to tipped employees because it assumes that the employee’s tips will offset the difference between the service rate and the minimum wage rate and allow the employee to receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate.

 Employers must subsidize a tipped employee’s wages as necessary to ensure that the employee’s wages (tips plus service rate) do not fall below the state’s minimum wage rate.

Subminimum Wage Certificates

Iowa recognizes and honors certificates for subminimum wages issued by the federal government. These certificates allow employers to pay wages below the minimum federal wage to disabled workers, student workers, student learners, messengers, apprentices and learners. For more information on subminimum wage certificates, visit the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) website.

Minimum Wage in Kansas (KS)

The minimum wage rate in Kansas is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate--$7.25 per hour,

Tipped Employees

The minimum wage rate for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) is $2.13 per hour.  

More Information

• Kansas Department of Labor

Minimum Wage in Kentucky (KY)

The minimum wage rate in Kentucky is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate—$7.25 per hour,

Tipped Employees

The minimum wage rate for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) is $2.13 per hour. Tipped employees are individuals who are engaged in an occupation where they customarily receive at least $30 a month in tips. Employers must ensure that their tipped employees tips and cash wage combined allow them to earn wages that are at least equal to the state's minimum wage rate. 

More Information

For more information, please contact the Kentucky Labor Cabinet.

Louisiana Minimum Wage

The minimum wage rate in Louisiana is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate—$7.25 per hour,

More Information

• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division 
• Louisiana Workforce Commission

Maine Minimum Wage Rate

Maine’s minimum wage laws complement federal law and, in some cases, prescribe more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever both state and federal laws apply, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies.

The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) enforces compliance with minimum wage laws throughout the state.

Minimum Wage

Employers in Maine are required to pay their employees wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate. Employers cannot contravene this requirement with a special employment contract or by any other means.

Under state law, the MDOL must increase the state’s minimum wage rate to reflect increases in the cost of living. This increase is measured by comparing the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) for the northeast region as published by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Minimum wage increases are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.

However, in the event the federal minimum wage is increased above the state rate, Maine’s minimum wage rate will increase to the same amount, effective on the same date as the federal minimum wage. Inflation updates will apply to this new rate thereafter.   

The table below provides an overview of Maine’s minimum wage rate over the last few years. The state minimum wage rate also determines the service rate and overtime salary exemption threshold.

Tipped Employees

Tipped employees, also known as service employees, are employees engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive at least $175 a month in tips or gratuities.

Under state law, a tipped employee’s wages may be calculated using a cash wage, a tip credit and the employee’s tips or gratuities. The cash wage in Maine is adjusted each year, as shown in the table above. The tip credit is the difference between the state minimum wage rate and the cash wage. The tip credit in Maine is 50% of the state’s minimum wage rate. Employers that use a tip credit must prove that their tipped employees’ tips, when combined with the cash wage, are sufficient to enable the employees to earn wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage requirements. Under the law, employers must make up the difference if their employees’ tips and cash wages are insufficient to meet the minimum wage requirement.

The tips received by a service employee become the property of the employee and may not be shared with the employer. Tips that are automatically included in a customer’s bill or charged to a credit card must be treated like tips given to the service employee. A tip that is charged to a credit card must be paid by the employer to the employee by the next regular payday and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from a credit card company.

Employers may not deduct any amount from employee tips charged to a credit card, including, but not limited to, service fees assessed to the employer in connection with the credit card transaction.

More Information

• Maine Minimum Wage Information
• Minimum Wage Information from the U.S. Department of Labor

Maryland Minimum Wage

The Maryland Wage and Hour Law (MWHL) supplements federal law and, in some cases, imposes stricter requirements that employers must follow. When both federal and state laws apply, employers must follow the law that provides the greatest benefit or protection to employees. 

The Division of Labor and Industry (DLI) of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation enforces MWHL standards and investigates minimum wage violation claims throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The MWHL requires employers to pay their employees either the state or the federal minimum wage rate, whichever is highest. Unless an exemption applies, any agreement to work for less than the applicable wage rate is void.

The MWHL allows employers to pay employees who are under the age of 18 a wage rate as low as 85% of the applicable minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employees

In Maryland, the hourly minimum wage for tipped employees—also known as a cash wage—is $3.63 per hour. A “tipped employee” is an individual who customarily and regularly receives at least $30 per month in tips.

The MWHL allows employers to use a tip credit to reduce a tipped employee’s wage rate requirements. This is because the MWHL assumes that the employee’s tips will offset the difference between the cash wage and the minimum wage rate, enabling the employee to receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate.

The MWHL requires employers to subsidize a tipped employee’s wages each time the employee’s tips are insufficient to meet minimum wage rate requirements. Employers that want to use the tip credit must notify their employees upon hire that their wages are calculated using tips, a tip credit and a cash wage. Compulsory gratuity service charges, even when retained by the employee, are not considered tips.

Disabled Workers

Traditionally, Maryland allowed some employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to employees with disabilities. To qualify for this exemption, these employers had to obtain a certificate or an exemption from either the state or federal government.

However, since Oct. 1, 2020, the DLI no longer issues state certificates or exemptions for paying a lower minimum wage rate to employees with disabilities. This means that only employers with a federal certificate will be allowed to pay a lower minimum wage rate, and only if they:

• Have been authorized by the DLI before Oct. 1, 2016 to pay a lower rate to employees with disabilities; and
• Maintain, and comply with the stipulations of, the federal certificate.

More Information

Visit the DLI website for more information. 

Massachusetts Minimum Wage

The Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law (MFWL) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that most employers in the state must follow.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) enforces these minimum wage rate requirements throughout the state.  

Minimum Wage Rate

The Massachusetts minimum wage rate is $15 per hour. This rate became effective on Jan. 1, 2023, and is the final increase of a 5-year schedule. Further increases must be approved either by the legislature or by the people via a ballot question.

However, the law authorizes employers to pay lower rates under certain circumstances. These exceptions are summarized below.

Tipped Employees

The MFWL sets a separate minimum hourly wage for tipped employees. This rate is called the “service rate.” Under the MFWL, tipped employees are individuals engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive at least $20 per month in tips. An employer may pay the service rate to a tipped employee only if:

• The employee has been informed that his or her wages are calculated by adding the service rate to earned tips;
• The sum of the service rate plus the average hourly amount the employee received in tips is at least as much as the state minimum wage rate; and
• The employee is allowed to retain all tips earned.

Employers that fail to meet all of these requirements must pay their employees at least the regular minimum wage rate. Likewise, if a tipped employee’s tips and service rate yield a wage rate lower than the state’s minimum wage rate for any reason, the employer must subsidize the employee’s wages to the extent necessary to meet the minimum wage rate.

Agricultural Workers

Individuals employed in the growing and harvesting of agricultural, floricultural and horticultural commodities may receive an hourly wage of $8 per hour. When calculating an agricultural worker’s wages, employers may not include the costs of lodging and board. Exceptions apply when an employee is the employer’s parent, child, spouse or other member of the employer’s immediate family.

Students

Employers may obtain a waiver from the LWD that allows them to pay students as low as 80% of the current minimum wage rate. This type of waiver is available for student employees who work for:

• Nonprofit establishments;
• Hospitals or laboratories as part of a formal program; or
• Bona fide educational institutions in which they are enrolled.

Workers with Disabilities

Employers may obtain a disability waiver that allows them to pay less than the minimum wage rate to individuals whose earning capacity or productivity is impaired because of age, physical ability, mental deficiency or injury. To qualify for this type of waiver, an employer must first obtain a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor that authorizes special minimum wage rates under the FLSA.

More Information

Contact the Massachusetts Office of Labor and Workforce Development for more information.

Michigan Minimum Wage

The Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law that is most beneficial to the employee will apply.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

All employers that have two or more employees in Michigan must comply with minimum wage payment requirements under the IWOWA. Minimum wage increases were set by Public Act No. 368, which amended the IWOWA in late 2018. Under the amendments, the minimum wage rate will increase annually until it reaches $12.05.        

Even though the rates in the table below represent the official schedule, state law prohibits scheduled increases when the state’s annual average unemployment rate for the preceding calendar year is above 8.5%. This was the case in 2020, which resulted in no increase for 2021.

Additional Wage Rates

The state minimum wage rate also determines the rate for tipped employees, minors and employees in training. As a result of the 2024 increase the following wage rates also become effective on Jan. 1, 2024:

• $8.78 per hour for minors 16 or 17 years of age (85% of state rate); and
• $4.25 per hour as the training wage for newly hired employees ages 16 to 19 for their first 90 days of employment.

More Information

Contact the LARA website for more information.

Minnesota Minimum Wage 

The Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law that provides the greater protection or benefit for employees will apply.

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MDLI) enforces labor standards and investigates minimum wage violation claims within the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The table below provides an overview of Minnesota’s minimum wage rate.

Employees under the age of 20 are “in training’ only during their first 90 consecutive days of employment. Employers cannot displace employees (including partial displacement) through a reduction of hours or benefits to hire individuals who qualify for the training wage.

Saint Paul

Saint Paul's minimum wage rate for each group will continue to rise until they match the rate for macro businesses (employers with 10,001 or more employees). 

Minneapolis

Tipped Employees

Minnesota law does not allow employers to use an employee’s tips to offset the employee’s minimum wage rate. Tipped employees must be paid at least the general minimum wage rate plus any of the tips the employee may earn.

Disabled Workers

In Minnesota, employers may obtain a permit allowing them to pay a subminimum wage rate to disabled workers. The MDLI will issue subminimum wage rate permits only if the employer can prove that disabled workers cannot perform work equal to the work performed by a nondisabled worker.

Disabled workers that can perform work equal to that of nondisabled workers must be paid a wage rate at least equal to the wage rate paid to a nondisabled person with similar experience and skill.

More Information

Contact the MDLI website for more information. 

Minimum Wage in Mississippi (MS)

Mississippi does not have a state minimum wage law. As a result, employers must comply with the federal minimum wage requirement of $7.25 per hour.

More Information

For more information, please contact the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. 

Missouri Minimum Wage

The Missouri Minimum Wage Law (MMWL) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Under the FLSA, when both state and federal laws apply, employers must comply with the law that is more favorable to the employee.

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rate

State minimum wage requirements apply to employers engaged in retail or service businesses whose annual gross income is at least $500,000.

The minimum wage rate in Missouri is adjusted each year to account for cost-of-living changes, based on the consumer price index. New rates are effective each year on Jan. 1 of the year after the increase is announced.  Minimum wage rate requirements may also be increased through collective bargaining agreements. 

When calculating an employee’s wage rate, employers may include the fair market value of incidental goods and services they provide to the employee if the employee receives them voluntarily for his or her private use and benefit.

Tipped Employees

A tipped employee’s wages consist of the cash wage plus all tips actually received by the employee for his or her services. In Missouri, employers must pay their tipped employees a cash wage of at least 50% of the applicable minimum wage rate.

These employers must be able to prove that employee tips account for at least the other 50% they need to meet the state’s minimum wage rate requirements. Employers must subsidize an employee’s wages to the extent that the employee’s tips are insufficient to enable him or her to receive the equivalent of the minimum wage rate. In addition, employers must count the hourly wage, tips, gratuities, commissions and the fair market value of any incidental goods and services provided to tipped employees in the workweek in which they are earned or used. 

More Information

Contact the DOLIR for more information.

Montana Minimum Wage

Montana employers must pay wages that are at least equal to the federal or state minimum wage rate, whichever is higher. Montana’s minimum wage rate is currently higher than the federal rate and is subject to annual adjustments to account for increases in the cost of living. The chart below provides an overview of how the hourly minimum wage rate in Montana has changed over the last few years.

However, a $4 rate applies to small businesses. Small businesses are businesses not covered by the FLSA and with annual sales of $110,000 or less. 

Finally, no tip credit, meal credit or training wage is allowed under Montana’s wage and hour laws.

Contact the Montana Department of Labor and Industry for more information.

Nebraska Minimum Wage

The following table provides an overview of minimum wage rates in Nebraska. The state rate applies to employers with 4 or more employees. 

• Tipped Employees: The minimum wage rate for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour. If an employee's tips and the cash wage do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.  

Contact the Nebraska Department of Labor for more information  

• Nebraska Minimum Wage Information
• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division

Nevada Minimum Wage

Nevada’s minimum wage laws complement federal law and, in some instances, provide more stringent requirements that employers in the state must follow. Under the FLSA, whenever federal and state standards apply, employees are entitled to enforce the standard that provides the most protection or the greater benefit.

The Nevada Labor Commission (NLC) monitors and enforces compliance with the state’s minimum wage laws throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The minimum wage rate in Nevada varies depending on whether the employer offers certain health benefits to employees. However, on Nov. 8, 2022, voters in Nevada approved an amendment to the state constitution that sets the state’s minimum wage rate to $12 per hour starting on July 1, 2024. The ballot measure, also known as State Question No. 2, amends the state constitution to increase the minimum wage rate for all employees in Nevada to $12 per hour by July 1, 2024, regardless of whether they receive health benefits.

If future amendments are considered, the amendments approved on Nov. 8 also prohibit the state minimum wage rate from being lower than $12 per hour. State Question No. 2 also stipulates that employers are to pay their employees the federal minimum wage rate if the federal rate becomes higher than the state rate.

Finally, under state law, it is unlawful to employ or contract employees for wages below the rates described above.

Tipped Employees

State law does not allow employers to count an employee’s tips or gratuities towards any portion of the employee’s minimum wage. As a result, employers in Nevada must pay tipped employees wages at or above the state minimum wage rate.

However, state law allows tipped employees to enter into tip pooling agreements where they divide tips and gratuities among themselves.

Qualified Health Benefits

Employers may offer a lower minimum wage rate to their employees if they also offer these employees qualified health insurance benefits. Employers must make available or provide these benefits within six months of employment or pay the higher minimum wage rate until employee coverage under a qualifying health insurance plan becomes effective. The term of the waiting period may be modified in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if the modification is explicitly set forth in such agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. Health insurance benefits qualify for the lower minimum wage rate if they provide coverage for: 

• Ambulatory patient services;
• Emergency services;
• Hospitalization;
• Maternity and newborn care;
• Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment;
• Prescription drugs;
• Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices;
• Laboratory services;
• Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management;
• Pediatric services, which are not required to include oral and vision care; and
• Any other health care service or coverage level required to be included in an individual or group health benefit plan pursuant to any applicable provision of Title 57 of Nevada’s revised statutes.

Qualified health insurance benefit plans must also provide a level of coverage that is designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to at least 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan.

Alternative qualifications apply to health benefits under a Taft-Hartley trust, hospital-indemnity insurance plans and fixed-indemnity insurance plans.

Employers must document and keep a record of employees who decline coverage under a qualifying health insurance plan offered to them. Declining coverage may not be a term or condition of employment.

Minimum Wage for Employees With Disabilities

Employers must compensate workers with disabilities with wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate unless they are authorized to pay subminimum wages by a special minimum wage certificate issued by the Rehabilitation Division of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation or the U.S. Department of Labor. “Workers with disabilities” describes individuals whose productive capacity for the work to be performed is impaired by a physical or mental disability to the extent that they are unable to earn at least the minimum wage prescribed for them.

Special minimum wage certificates specify the terms and conditions under which they are granted. Workers with disabilities may be paid a special minimum wage only while their certificates are effective. Employers must comply with these terms and conditions while they employ workers subject to these certificates.

Employers must inform each worker with a disability and, where appropriate, their parents or guardians of the terms and conditions of their certificates. Employers may provide this information verbally or in writing. Employers must also provide each worker with a disability with a brief statement of certificate terms each time their paycheck is issued.

Special minimum wage certificates must be renewed before they expire to remain valid and may be revoked when employers violate their terms and conditions.

More Information

Contact the Office of the Nevada Labor Commissioner for more information.

New Jersey Minimum Wage

The New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rate

New Jersey’s minimum wage rate is set to increase progressively until it reaches $15 per hour. The LWD has announced the following schedule. However, the NJWHL authorizes the LWD to adjust the minimum wage rate in the state to reflect changes in inflation. 

*Long-term care facility direct care staff members must receive wages that are at least $3 above the state minimum hourly wage rate.

The cost of meal and lodging benefits is not part of an employee’s wages when the employee is required to accept them. In addition, employers should be mindful of local laws that may increase an employee’s minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employees

A tipped employee’s wages consist of the cash wage plus all tips actually received by the employee for his or her services. The minimum wage increase scheduled above shows the hourly cash wage tipped employees must receive during each year.

Employers must ensure that the cash wage and the employee's tips, when combined, are at least equal to the state's minimum wage rate. Employers may need to make up the difference if the employee's tips are insufficient to allow the employee to earn wages that are at least equal to the state's minimum wage.

Special Certificates for Subminimum Wage Rates

Under the NJWHL, employers can obtain special subminimum wage rate certificates from the LWD to pay disabled employees, learners, students and apprentices a wage rate below the minimum wage rate. To obtain these certificates, employers must submit a proposal and wait for the LWD to set the duration, wage rate and conditions for the certificates.

• Student-workers: In general, student-workers may receive wages as low as 85% of the minimum wage rate. A student-worker is an individual who works part-time for the institution where he or she receives full-time instruction as a means to defray part of his or her school expenses.
• Disabled workers: A disabled worker is an individual whose earning capacity or productivity is impaired because of physical or mental deficiency or injury. A disabled worker can receive subminimum wages at a rate that adequately reflects his or her earning capacity. An employer applying for a subminimum wage rate certificate for a disabled employee must propose a wage rate and wait for LWD approval.

More Information

Contact the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development for more information

New Mexico Minimum Wage 

New Mexico’s Minimum Wage Act (MWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, employers must follow the standard that provides the highest protection or benefit to their employees.

The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) enforces compliance with the MWA across the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The table below provides an overview of New Mexico’s minimum wage rate. 

Employers that furnish food, utilities, supplies or housing to their may deduct the reasonable value of these furnished items from their employees’ wages. This provision applies only to employees who are engaged in agriculture.

Tipped Employees

Tipped employee wages are calculated using the employee’s tips plus their cash wages. Tipped employees must receive wages that are at least equal to the minimum wage rate. If a tipped employee’s tips and cash wage combined do not equal or exceed the applicable minimum rate, the employer must pay the difference to ensure the tipped employee receives wages at or above the state’s requirement. A tipped employee is a worker who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month.

Workers With Disabilities

The DWS may issue special minimum wage certificates for individuals who are impaired by a disability. These certificates list the authorized minimum wage rate for affected individuals and the terms and conditions employers must abide by to pay these lower wage rates.

More Information

For more information, please contact the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

New York Minimum Wage

The table below provides an overview of minimum wage requirements in New York state.  

Tipped Employees

New York state law allows employers in all industries (except for building service) to satisfy the minimum wage by combining a “cash wage” paid by the employer with a credit or allowance for tips that the employee receives from customers. 

Cash wages and tip credits in New York state depend on location and industry. Employers should review the information published by the NYDOL for more information. 

More Information 

• New York Department of Labor
• New York State's Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage in North Carolina (NC)

The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (WHA) follows federal guidelines and in some instances prescribes additional requirements that employers must follow. The Wage and Hour Bureau of the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) enforces WHA provisions and investigates minimum wage violation claims. Under state law, local governments are prohibited from adopting or imposing any requirement upon an employer pertaining to employee compensation, such as wage levels, hours of labor or the payment of earned wages.

Minimum Wage Rate

The minimum wage rate in North Carolina is $7.25 per hour. However some exceptions apply. Employee wages are defined as the entire amount of compensation employees receive for their labor or services, whether determined on a time, task, piece, job, day, commission or other basis of calculation. Total compensation also includes:

• The reasonable cost of employee board, lodging or other facilities (as determined by the NCDOL);
• Sick, vacation and severance pay;
• Commissions and bonuses; and
• Other promised amounts when employers have a policy or a practice of making these payments.

Tipped Employees

The WHA allows employers to pay tipped employees a cash wage of $2.13 per hour. The cash wage is the result of subtracting the permitted tip credit of $5.12 from the current minimum rate. Tipped employers are individuals engaged in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive at least $20 per month in tips.

More Information

Please contact the NCDOL for more information on minimum wage laws in North Carolina. 

Minimum Wage in North Dakota (ND)

The minimum wage rate in North Dakota is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate—$7.25 per hour,

Tipped Employees

The minimum wage rate for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) is $4.86 per hour. Tipped employees are individuals who are engaged in an occupation where they customarily receive at least $30 a month in tips. Employers must ensure that their tipped employees tips and cash wage combined allow them to earn wages that are at least equal to the state's minimum wage rate. 

More Information

• North Dakota Minimum Wage Information
• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division  
• North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights

Ohio Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Ohio applies to employers that gross at amount that is at least equal to a threshold that is set up annually. Employers that gross less than the threshold must pay their employees a minimum wage rate that is at least equal to the federal rate. In addition, any employer in Ohio may pay the federal minimum wage rate to employees who are under 16 years of age.

The table below provides information about the state’s minimum wage rate and the applicable threshold.

More Information

Contact the Ohio Department of Commerce for more information.

The Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act(OMWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. When both state and federal laws apply, employers must follow the law that provides the greater protection or benefit to their employees.

The Wageand Hour Unit, part of the Oklahoma Department of Labor (OKDOL),enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rate

The current minimum wage rate in Oklahoma is $7.25 per hour. Under the OMWA, the state minimum wage rate must be equal to the current federal rate.

“Employee wages” are defined as the entire amount of compensation the employee receives for his or her labor or services. When calculating an employee’s wages, an employer can include the reasonable cost of furnishing uniforms. In addition, the employer can include any amount of mileage compensation, vehicle allowances and other types of flat-rate expense payments that exceed the actual cost incurred by the employee. The OMWA also allows employers to include a credit to recoup the cost of meals or lodging they provide for their employees. The credit can be for up to 50% of the minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employees

In Oklahoma, the hourly minimum wage rate for tipped employees—also known as a cash wage—is $3.62 per hour.

The OMWA allows employers to use a tip credit of $3.63 per hour (50% of the minimum wage rate) to reduce a tipped employee’s wage rate requirements. This is because the OMWA assumes that the employee’s tips will offset the difference between the cash wage and the minimum wage rate, enabling the employee to receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate.

The OMWA requires employers to subsidize their tipped employees’ wages each time the employees’ tips are insufficient to meet minimum wage rate requirements.

Special Subminimum Wage Certificates

Employers that wish to pay learners, apprentices, messengers, students and disabled individuals wages below the minimum wage rate must first obtain a special certificate from the OKDOL. The OKDOL will set the wage rate and other conditions of employment (such as time, number, proportion and length of service) for these employees.

Oregon law complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law most favorable to the employee will apply.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rates

State law requires employers to compensate their employees for all hours worked. Employee wages must be at least equal to the applicable state minimum wage rate. Employers may include commission and bonus payments when computing an employee’s minimum wage. Commissions and bonuses can only be counted as part of the minimum wage in the pay period in which they are received.

State minimum wage law prevents local governments from setting any minimum wage requirements for the private sector, though local governments are still allowed to set up minimum wage requirements:

• For public employers;
• In specifications for public contracts entered into by the local government; and
• As a condition of the local government providing direct tax abatements or subsidies for private employers with 10 or more employees.

The minimum wage rate in Oregon depends on location. State law has prescribed different rates for the state, the Portland metropolitan area and nonurban counties, as shown in the table below.

Click here to determine which minimum wage listed above applies to your business.

The minimum wage rate will be adjusted for inflation each year, beginning July 1, 2023. The Portland Metro Area wage rate will remain $1.25 per hour higher than the state minimum wage rate. Similarly, the minimum wage rate for nonurban counties will remain $1 per hour lower than the state rate

BOLI has stated that workers should be paid the wage for the county where they perform 50% or more of their work each week. BOLI has also clarified that employers can pay employees who travel for work the rate in each county where they worked.[ii]

Tipped Employee Wages

Oregon law does not allow employers to deduct any tip credits from their employees’ wages or to pay tipped employees less than the state minimum wage rate. Tip payments include any tip, gratuity, money or other gifts a patron gives an employee over and above the actual amount of the goods, food, drink, items or services the patron received from that business.

Employees With Disabilities

Individuals with mental or physical disabilities are indiciduals who cannot perform all of the bona fide job requirements within a reasonable period of time expected of those at the entry level. Subminimum wage rates for individuals with disabilities must first be approved by BOLI.

Employers with a special certificate authorizing subminimum wages for employees with disabilities must pay these individuals the following rates:

• $10.75 per hour from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022
• $12.50 per hour from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023

After June 30, 2023, employers will be required to compensate employees with disabilities at the applicable minimum wage rate.

Student Learners

Subminimum wage rates for student learners must be authorized by a BOLI-issued certificate. In general, BOLI will issue student learner certificates if:

• Student learners’ compensation at subminimum wages is necessary to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment;
• The occupation for which the student learner is receiving preparatory training requires a sufficient degree of skill to necessitate a substantial learning period;
• The training is not for the purpose of acquiring manual dexterity and high production speed in repetitive operations;
• The employment of student learners does not displace workers employed in the employer’s establishment;
• The employment of student learners at subminimum wages does not tend to impair or depress the wage rates or working standards established for experienced workers for work of a like or comparable character;
• The occupational needs of the community or industry warrant the training of student learners;
• The employer has not been previously issued serious outstanding violations of the provisions of a student learner certificate or serious violations of any other provisions of law by the employer which provide reasonable grounds to conclude that the terms of the certificate would not be complied with if issued;
• A certificate’s issuance would not tend to prevent the development of apprenticeships under ORS 660.002 to 660.210 or would not impair established apprenticeship standards in the occupation or industry involved; and
• The number of student learners to be employed in one establishment is a small proportion of its working force.

Student learners may receive a wage that is at least 75 percent of the state’s minimum wage. However, the number of hours a student learner may work at a subminimum wage rate is limited to 40 hours per week. Employers must include the number of hours of school instruction student learners participate in when calculating the 40-hour per week total.

A student learner is a student who is receiving instruction in an accredited school, college or university and is employed on a part-time basis pursuant to a bona fide professional training program. Bona fide professional training programs include any professional training program approved by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to rules of the state Board of Education that provides for part-time employment training, which may be scheduled for a part of the workday or workweek for alternating weeks or other limited periods during the year. These programs must be supplemented by and integrated with a definite organized plan of instruction designed to teach technical knowledge and related information given as a regular part of the student learner’s course by an accredited school, college or university.

Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Rate 

The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (the Act) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. When both federal and state laws apply, employers must comply with the law that provides the greater protection or benefit for their employees. 

The Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, part of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (PDLI), enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims.

Minimum Wage Rate

The minimum wage rate in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour. Employee wages include any means of compensation due to them by reason of their employment. This includes salaries, tips and the reasonable costs of board, lodging and other facilities (when these are customarily provided to employees).

Tipped Employees

Employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $2.83 per hour. Tipped employees are employees engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive at least $135 a month in tips.

State law requires employers to ensure their tipped employees receive wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate. This means that employers may need to subsidize a tipped employee’s wages if the employee’s tips and cash wage are not enough to allow the employee to earn a wage rate is at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate.

Students

State law allows employers to claim a minimum wage exemption for students.

Under this exemption, a student is an individual who is enrolled in and regularly attends an institution of learning or is completing residence requirements for a degree. The student must attend on a full-time basis during the daytime. The institution of learning must offer a course of instruction leading to a degree, certificate or diploma.

A person is deemed to be a student during the time that school is not in session if that person was a student during the preceding semester, trimester or similar term of instruction. However, no person may be deemed a student for a period after they receive a degree, certificate or diploma. 

Employers can hire students at a subminimum wage rate only if employing students does not decrease employment opportunities for full-time employees. Employers hiring more than six students at subminimum wage rates must show the PDLI that they maintain at least three full-time regular employees for every student employed.

In addition, employers that pay students at a subminimum rate cannot allow the student to work more than 20 hours per workweek when school is in session (40 hours when school is not in session).

Learners

Employers can pay subminimum wages to their learner-employees only during the employees’ first 60 calendar days of employment. Learners are individuals who are under the age of 20 and are participating in a legitimate training program for the occupations for which they were hired. Training periods must last between two and eight weeks, unless the PDLI authorizes an exception.

Employees who have completed the training program for an occupation may no longer be considered learners for that occupation and must receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate. The PDLI reserves the right to limit the ratio of learners to non-learners and the approved subminimum rate for any particular occupation and for any particular employer. 

Workers With Disabilities

Employers may pay subminimum wage rates to handicapped workers if they obtain a certificate from the PDLI or under FLSA section 14(c) from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Handicapped workers are individuals “whose earning capacity for the work to be performed is impaired by physical or mental deficiency or injury.”

Subminimum Wage Certificates

Employers can pay wages as low as $6.16 per hour (85% of the applicable minimum wage rate) to individuals covered by subminimum wage rate certificates. The PDLI authorizes these certificates for students, learners and handicapped workers.

To receive these certificates, employers must file an application with the PDLI and meet the criteria specified for each group. The PDLI can deny or revoke these certificates for misrepresentation of fact, violation of certificate terms or other good cause. The PDLI may also modify the parameters of any certificate at any time to accommodate changes in conditions or circumstances. Employers should check with the PDLI periodically for updates and modifications to their certificates.

In addition, employers must maintain copies of subminimum wage certificates for PDLI inspection for at least three years after the termination of a special group employee.

More Information

Please contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry for more information on wage and hour issues.  

Rhode Island Minimum Wage Rates

The Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act (the Act) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. When both state and federal laws apply, employers must follow whichever law is most favorable to the employee.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (the DLT) monitors and enforces compliance with the state’s wage and hour laws.

Minimum Wage Rate

Employers must pay their employees a wage rate that is at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate. The minimum wage rate in Rhode Island will increase gradually until it reaches $15 per hour.

The term “employer” under state law includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust and any group of persons, acting directly, or indirectly, in the interest of an employer.

Employees With Disabilities

Rhode Island has repealed the state provision that allowed employers to pay subminimum wages to employees with disabilities. As a result, Rhode Island employers are no longer allowed to pay wages below the state minimum wage rate to individuals “whose earning capacity is impaired by physical or mental disability,” even when this practice is still allowed under the FLSA.

Tipped Employee Wages

Rhode Island law allows employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to tipped employees. A tipped employee is an employee who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 dollars a month in tips. "Tip" means voluntary monetary compensation received directly or indirectly by the employee for services rendered.

The state allows employers to pay this lower wage, also known as a “cash wage” because it assumes that the employee’s tips will be sufficient to offset the difference between the cash wage and the state’s minimum wage rate.

The cash wage for tipped employees in Rhode Island is $3.89 per hour. Employers are required to subsidize a tipped employee’s wages if the employee’s tips are not enough to enable him or her to earn wages at a rate that is at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate.

Under state law, a tip is the sole property of the tipped employee. Any arrangement between an employer and the tipped employee whereby any part of the tip received becomes the property of the employer is prohibited. Tipped employees must retain all of their tips. However, this requirement does not preclude valid tip pooling or sharing arrangements. Employers must notify their employees of any required tip pooling contribution amount.

Sums distributed to employees from service charges cannot be counted as tips received, but may be used to satisfy the employer’s minimum wage and overtime requirements.

When tips are charged on a credit card and the employer must pay the credit card company a percentage on each sale, the employer may deduct that percentage from the employee's tips, provided that the employer notifies the employee of the deduction. This charge on the tip may not reduce the employee's wage below the required minimum wage. The amount due the employee must be paid no later than the regular pay day and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from the credit card company.

Wages for Minors

Minors who are 14 or 15 years of age may receive a minimum wage rate as low as 75% of the state minimum wage rate for the first 24 hours they work during a workweek. The regular state minimum wage rate applies for any hours worked over 24 during the workweek.

More Information

For more information contact the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

South Carolina Minimum Wage

South Carolina does not have a state minimum wage law. As a result, employers subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must pay their employees wages that are at least equal to the current federal minimum wage rate. The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour for nonexempt employees. 

The FLSA also controls minimum wage exemptions within the state. 

Local Observance

State law prohibits political subdivisions of the state from establishing, mandating or otherwise requiring a minimum wage rate that is higher than the federal rate. This prohibition also applies to individuals who are exempt from FLSA requirements. 

For purposes of this section, “political subdivision” includes—but is not limited to—a municipality, county, school district, special purpose district or public service district. 

However, this prohibition does not limit the authority of political subdivisions to establish wage rates in contracts to which they are a party. 

Employees With Disabilities 

Under the FLSA, employers may pay wages below the current federal minimum wage rate to individuals whose earning or productive capacities are impaired by physical or mental disabilities. In order to use this exemption, employers must: 

• Obtain a subminimum wage certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) before paying subminimum wages; and
• Ensure that subminimum wages are paid at wage rates commensurate to workers’ individual productivity levels.

Employers can find more information on federal requirements regarding subminimum wages for employees with disabilities on the DOL’s Fact Sheet #39: The Employment of Workers with Disabilities at Subminimum Wages. 

However, on May 11, 2022, South Carolina adopted a joint resolution (SJR 533) that prohibits employers from paying employees with disabilities wages below the minimum wage rate. The resolution becomes effective on Aug. 1, 2024. 

Under the FLSA, when state and federal laws conflict with each other, employers must provide the greater protection or benefit to their employees. Because SJR 533 provides a greater benefit to employees with disabilities, employers in South Carolina will no longer be able to claim the federal minimum wage exemption after Aug. 1, 2024.

More Information

• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division
• South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

South Dakota Minimum Wage 

South Dakota’s minimum wage laws (MWLs) complement federal law and, in some cases, prescribe more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. When both federal and state laws apply, employers must follow the standard that provides the greatest protection or benefit to their employees.

The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) monitors and enforces compliance with the MWLs throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

Employers in South Dakota must pay wages that are at least equal to the state minimum wage rate. Employees are entitled to recover the full amount of these wages regardless of any agreement to work for less than the state’s minimum wage rate.

The minimum wage rate in South Dakota is adjusted annually to account for changes in the cost of living. This increase is calculated by using the consumer price index for all urban consumers and the U.S. city average for all items (or its successor index as published by the U.S. Department of Labor or its successor agency). The calculation is then rounded up to the nearest 5 cents. State law does not allow the DLR to decrease the state’s minimum wage rate.

New rates are published by Oct. 15 each year and become effective on Jan. 1 of the following year. The table below provides a historical overview of minimum wage rates in the state.

Tipped Employees

Tipped employees are individuals who are engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $35 a month in tips or other considerations. The minimum wage rate for tipped employees in the state (also known as the cash wage) is equal to 50% of the state’s rate.

However, under state law, tipped employees must earn wages that are at least equal to the state rate. This means that employers must make up the difference between the state rate and their tipped employees’ earnings when their employees’ tips, combined with their cash wages, fall below the state rate.

More Information

Please visit the DLR website  for more information.  

Tennessee Minimum Wage

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates minimum wage, overtime pay and work hours for most employees. Tennessee has largely adopted federal law as the state standard for wage and hour requirements. This means that the current minimum wage rate for nonexempt employees in Tennessee is $7.25 per hour. 

State law also prohibits local governments from imposing wage or employee benefit mandates on private employers.

Employees with Disabilities

Tennessee does not have a state minimum wage exemption for employees with disabilities. As a result, employees with disabilities in Tennessee must receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate.

For More Information 

• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division
• Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Minimum Wage in Texas (TX)

Texas has adopted the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour as the state standard. In addition, state law prohibits municipalities and counties from adopting employment ordinances that conflict with federal or state law. To calculate an employee’s wage rate, an employer may include the cost of meals and lodging that it customarily provides for the employee. However, employers that include the cost of meals and lodging must also report these costs in the employee’s earning statements.

Students

Students are exempt from minimum wage laws when they are either:

• Under age 20 and are regularly enrolled in a high school, college, university or vocational training program; or
• Under age 21, have a disability, participate in vocational rehabilitation and are part of a cooperative school-work program.

Tipped Employees

In Texas, a tipped employee is an individual who receives at least $20 per month in tips. 

A tipped employee is entitled to receive wages at the minimum rate, but the employer need only pay him or her $2.13 per hour as long as this wage rate, when added to the employee’s tips, enables the employee to receive total wages at or above the minimum wage rate. The $5.13 difference between the tip rate and the minimum wage rate is called a tip credit. An employer may use this tip credit only after notifying the employee. The tip credit does not vary for tipped employees who work overtime hours.

More Information

Please contact the Texas Workforce Commission for more information. 

Minimum Wage in Utah (UT)

The Utah Minimum Wage Act (UMWA) complements federal law, and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law that provides the greater protection or that sets the higher benefit for employees will apply.

The Utah Antidiscrimination & Labor Division (UALD), part of the Utah Labor Commission, enforces compliance with minimum wage standards throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

The minimum wage rate in Utah is the same as the federal rate—$7.25 per hour. An employee’s wages are the entire amount of compensation due to the employee for their labor or services. Under the UMWA, employers must calculate and interpret wage terms consistent with the FLSA. Thus, wages include bonuses, commissions and vacation pay, but do not include severance pay. Wages can be fixed, or they can be based on time, task, piece, commission or other method.

The UMWA prohibits Utah cities, towns and counties from establishing, mandating or requiring a minimum wage rate higher than the state minimum wage rate, except when required by federal law. Similarly, cities, towns and counties within the state cannot give preferential treatment to employers that pay their employees a wage rate higher than the state’s minimum wage rate.

Tipped Employees

In Utah, the hourly minimum wage for tipped employees—also known as a cash wage—is $2.13 per hour. The UMWA defines a tipped employee as an employee who customarily and regularly receives at least $30 per month in tips or gratuities.

Utah law allows employers to use a tip credit of $5.12 per hour to reduce tipped employee wage rate requirements. This is because the state assumes that an employee’s tips will offset the difference between the cash wage and the minimum wage rate, enabling the employee to receive wages at or above the minimum wage rate. The UMWA requires employers to subsidize tipped employees’ wages each time the employees’ tips are insufficient to meet minimum wage rate requirements.

Minors

Employers may pay employees under the age of 18 a subminimum wage equal to $4.25 per hour during the first 90 days of employment.

Workers with Disabilities

Workers with disabilities are employees whose earnings or productive capacities are impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury.

The subminimum wage rate for these employees must be related to their productivity. The UALD may establish and regulate the wages or wage scales employers may pay to their disabled employees.

Learners

Employers may pay learners a lower minimum wage for the first 160 hours of employment, as set by the UALD.

For More Information

• Utah Minimum Wage Information
• Minimum Wage FAQs from the U.S. Wage and Hour Division
• Utah Labor Commission

Vermont Minimum Wage

Vermont law complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Under the FLSA, when both state and federal laws apply, employers must follow whichever law is most favorable to the employee.

The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims throughout the state.

Minimum Wage Rate

Employers must pay their employees a wage rate that is at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate. Any agreement between an employer and an employee to work for less than the state’s minimum wage rate is illegal. Under Vermont law, employee wages include the entire amount of compensation an employee receives for his or her labor or services, including salary, commissions and incentive pay.

Beginning in 2023, the state’s minimum wage rate will be adjusted annually to reflect the cost of inflation. 

Tipped Employee Wages

A tipped employee in Vermont is an individual who customarily and regularly receives more than $120 per month in tips. 

Vermont law allows employers to pay a lower wage rate to tipped employees, also known as a “cash wage,” because it assumes that the employee’s tips will be sufficient to offset the difference between the cash wage and the state’s minimum wage rate. 

The cash wage for tipped employees in Vermont must be at least equal to 50% of the state’s minimum wage rate. Employers are required to subsidize their tipped employees’ wages if tips are not enough to enable their tipped employees to earn wages at a rate that is at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate.

More Information

 Contact the Vermont Department of Labor for more information. 

Virginia Minimum Wage 

The Virginia Minimum Wage Act (VMWA) complements federal law and, in some instances, provides more stringent requirements that employers in the state must follow. Under the FLSA, whenever federal and state standards apply, employees are entitled to enforce the standard that provides the most protection or the greater benefit.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (VDOLI) monitors and enforces compliance with the VMWA throughout the state. 

Minimum Wage Rate

Virginia employers must pay wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate. The state’s minimum wage rate is set to increase annually until it reaches $15 per hour as shown in the table below. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027 the state minimum wage rate will be adjusted annually to reflect the cost of inflation.  

Unless an exception applies, the VMWA generally covers all individuals who work for any public or private employer in the state. The law specifically covers workers who:

• Provide home care services (home health or personal care services);
• Are covered under the FLSA;
• Work in domestic service, or in or about a private home;
• Normally work and are paid on the amount of work done;
• Have impaired earning capacity due to physical or mental disabilities;
• Work for an employer with fewer than four employees; or
• Are under age 18 and under the jurisdiction and direction of a juvenile and domestic relations district court.

Tipped Employees

The VMWA allows employers to count a tipped employee’s tips towards the employee’s minimum wage requirements. Still the VMWA requires that tipped employees receive wages at or above the state’s minimum wage rate so employers must make up the difference between the employee’s tips and the state minimum wage rate when necessary. The WMWA does not specify a cash wage or minimum tipped employee rate. 

However, the FLSA requires employers to pay their tipped employees a cash wage that is at least $2.13 per hour. Because in this instance federal law can be more protective, employers must ensure their FLSA-covered employees receive a cash wage that is at least $2.13 per hour. 

Under the VMWA, a “tipped employee” is defined as an individual who receives more than $30 per month in tips in the course of his or her employment. An employer may not classify an individual as a tipped employee if he or she is prohibited by federal or state law from soliciting tips. 

Workers With Disabilities

On April 12, 2023, Virginia adopted House Bill 1924 (HB 1924) to withdraw the labor law provision that allowed employers to pay wages below the minimum wage rate to workers with disabilities. HB 1924 becomes effective on July 1, 2030.

The VMWA currently provides an exemption that allows employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to employees who qualify for the federal Fair Labor Standards Act exemption for workers with disabilities.

HB 1924 amends the VMWA by changing the definition of “employees” subject to the minimum wage requirement and sunsetting the ability of employers to pay a lower minimum wage rate to workers with disabilities. In effect, these amendments will require employers to pay the state’s minimum wage rate to nonexempt employees, including those with disabilities.

More Information 

 For more information, please contact the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

Washington Minimum Wage

Washington updates the state minimum wage rate annually to account for changes in the cost of living. The table below provides information on the state’s minimum wage rate. Employers must also be mindful of local laws, ordinances, rules or regulations that require higher minimum wage rates.

*For 2022, the lower minimum wage rate in Seattle applies to employees who (1) work for small employers (500 or fewer employees) and (2) receive at least $1.52 per hour in employer contributions toward their medical benefits or earn at least $1.52 per hour in tips. For 2023, employees who work for small employers must receive at least $2.19 per hour in employer contributions toward their medical benefits or earn at least $2.19 per hour in tips.

Tipped Employees

Although federal law allows for a lower minimum wage rate for tipped employees under certain conditions, the WMWA does not consider gratuities as part of an employee’s wages. Under the WMWA, employers are responsible for ensuring that their tipped employees receive the applicable minimum wage rate.

Employers that impose an automatic service charge related to food, beverages, entertainment or porterage must disclose an itemized receipt showing their customers the percentage of the automatic service charge or tip that will be paid to the employees serving the customers. 

Ride-share Drivers

The minimum pay for transportation network company (TNC) drivers is one of the new rights and protections granted to TNC drivers by legislation passed in 2022.

• For trips within Seattle in 2024, drivers will earn 66 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.55 per passenger platform mile, or $5.81, whichever is greater; and
• For trips outside of Seattle in 2024, drivers will earn 38 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.31 per passenger platform mile, or $3.37, whichever is greater.

More Information

Contact the Washington Department of Labor and Industries for more information.