Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most nonexempt employees must be paid at least $7.25 per hour. Employers may pay a lower training wage of $4.25/hour to workers under 20 during their first 90 days, and tipped employees may earn a base wage of $2.13/hour if their tips bring them up to the federal minimum. But here’s the key: state and local laws often set higher rates and those take priority.

Alabama has no state-specific minimum wage laws. Instead, FLSA-covered employers operating in the state must follow the FLSA’s minimum wage requirements.

In Alabama, counties, municipalities and any other political subdivisions are preempted from enacting any ordinance, policy, rule or other mandate requiring an employer to provide any employee, class of employee or independent contractor with an employment benefit not required by state or federal law, including wages, vacation, paid or unpaid leave and work schedules.

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. 

Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the state’s minimum wage rate will be adjusted annually for inflation.

Arizona’s minimum wage rate is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living each year, 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.

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.

Under California law, 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 methods of calculation. As of Jan. 1, 2023, California’s minimum wage no longer depends on employer size and is adjusted annually to account for inflation. The table below outlines recent minimum wage rates and their respective effective dates. The governor may temporarily suspend a scheduled increase if the state’s economic condition does not support it. 

Fast food employees must be paid at least $20.00 per hour.

JULY UPDATES

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.

Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage rate for tipped employees in the hotel and restaurant industry (other than bartenders) is $6.38. A tipped employee is defined as an individual who is engaged in an occupation in which tips or gratuities are customarily exchanged for services. The rate for tipped bartenders is $8.23.

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. 

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).

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.

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.

Effective July 1, 2025, the Georgia Dignity and Pay Act prohibits Georgia employers from paying workers with disabilities subminimum wages. Employers who received a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor on or before July 1, 2025, are still permitted to utilize the certificate to pay individuals less than the federal minimum wage until July 1, 2027.

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.

The minimum wage rate in Idaho is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate, $7.25 per hour. The minimum wage for new hires under the age of 20 years old is $4.25 per hour but only for the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment.

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.

The table below provides an overview of scheduled minimum wage rate increases for the state of Illinois. 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.

Local Rates

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

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.

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 minimum wage rate in Kansas is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate $7.25 per hour. The minimum wage rate for tipped employees (also known as the cash wage) is $2.13 per hour.  

The minimum wage rate in Kentucky is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate $7.25 per hour. 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 and either:

Louisiana has adopted the federal minimum wage rate. As a result, the minimum wage rate in Louisiana is currently the same as the federal minimum wage rate—$7.25 per hour for nonexempt employees.

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. Additionally, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the state minimum wage rate will apply to agricultural workers in Maine. 

The MWHL requires all employers (regardless of size) to pay employees at least $15 per hour. 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. Additionally, different rates may apply for various counties.

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.

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.

As of July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the legislature’s 2018 changes to the state’s minimum wage and sick leave laws were unconstitutional. The Court later clarified that the tipped minimum wage and tip credit will be phased out.

However, just before the new rules took effect, Senate Bill 8 was passed, keeping the $12.48/hour rate for February 21, 2025, but accelerating future increases. Michigan’s minimum wage will now reach $15/hour by January 1, 2027, with future increases tied to inflation (unless unemployment exceeds 8.5%).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nebraska's minimum wage rates for employers with four or more employees is $15 per hour starting on Jan. 1, 2026. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the state's minimum wage will increase annually by 1.75%. Accordingly, Nebraska's minimum wage will increase to $15.26 per hour on Jan. 1, 2027.

The minimum wage in Nevada is $12.00 per hour and applies to all employees regardless of offered employer health benefits. This minimum wage rate applies to all employees unless otherwise exempted.

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.

Federal minimum wage law is governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour for nonexempt employees. New Hampshire’s minimum wage laws complement federal law and, in some cases, prescribe more stringent or additional requirements employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies.

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.

New Mexico’s minimum wage rate is $12 per hour. 

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:

New Mexico's minimum wage for tipped employees is $3 per hour. 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.

State law allows private sector employers to use the tip credit and pay their tipped employees the cash wage because it assumes that the tips employees receive, when combined with the cash wage, will be sufficient to allow employees to earn wages at or above the minimum wage rate.

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

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.

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. 

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 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 Wage and Hour Unit, part of the Oklahoma Department of Labor (OKDOL), enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims. The OMWA covers employers if they have either 10 or more full-time employees or a gross revenue of more than $100,000 annually.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Virginia employers must pay wages that are at least equal to the state’s minimum wage rate as shown in the table below. The state minimum wage rate is adjusted annually to reflect the cost of inflation. The table below provides an overview of the state minimum wage increases.

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.

West Virginia's minimum wage rate is $8.75 per hour. The rate applies to employers with six or more non-exempt employees working at any one separate, distinct, and permanent work location. 

Tipped Employees

Employers may take up to a 70% credit, or $6.13 per hour, against the required minimum wage rate for employees who customarily receive tips, resulting in a reduced hourly wage rate of at least $2.62 per hour.

The minimum wage rate in Wisconsin is $7.25 per hour. Employee wages include any compensation given to an employees for their services. Usually, this includes bonuses, commissions and vacation pay. Wages can be fixed or calculated on the basis of time, task, piece, commission or other method.

Wyoming's state minimum wage rate is $5.15 per hour. However, the federal minimum wage rate for nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) employers must comply with the law that provides the greatest protection or benefit to their employees. For this reason, employers in Wyoming must pay their nonexempt employees wages that are at least equal to the federal minimum wage rate. 

If your business operates in multiple locations, Audax can help you stay ahead of evolving regulations. Making navigating federal, state, and local wage laws simple.

📩 Contact Audax today to streamline your HR and compliance operations and ensure your business stays compliant, competitive, and prepared.