United States Department of Labor

Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees

January 1, 2003

The following seven states, not included in table, do not have State minimum wage laws: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana , Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Also not included is Georgia, which exempts tipped employee from its law.

Some states set sub-minimum rates for minors and/or students or exempt them from coverage, or have a training wage for new hires. Such differential provisions are not displayed in this table.

FOOTNOTES

1 Other additional deductions are permitted, for example for meals and lodging, except as noted in footnote 8.

2 Alaska. Beginning January 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, the rate will be adjusted for inflation using either the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for Anchorage, Alaska, or $1 more than the Federal minimum wage, whichever is greater.

3 Minnesota. A large employer is an enterprise with annual receipts of $500,000 or more; a small employer, less than $500,000.

4 Oregon. Beginning January 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, the rate will be adjusted for inflation by a calculation using the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for All Items. The wage amount established will be rounded to the nearest five cents.

5 Washington. Beginning January 1, 2001, and annually thereafter, the rate will be adjusted for inflation by a calculation using the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the prior year.

6 New Mexico. The minimum rate for non-tipped employees is $5.15 per hour.

7 Puerto Rico. Rates are established by industry wage orders (mandatory decrees) and vary by industry, occupation or other factors. However, for employers not covered by the FLSA, a new minimum rate equivalent to 70% of the Federal minimum wage ($3.61 of $5.15 per hour) supersedes all mandatory decree rates below that level, with the mandatory decree program being eventually phased out. A tip credit allowance is permitted in, 1) the restaurant, bar and soda fountain industry, which has a $3.70 minimum wage for all employees, and 2) the guest house industry, with a minimum of $2.75, but only for those employees who were hired after July 27, 1998. In addition, a lower rate is established for tipped occupations than for non-tipped in the hotel industry. For hotel waiters and bellboys, the minimum wage is $2.50 or $2.25, depending on whether annual gross income is $362,500 for more or less than this amount.

8 In New Jersey, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, the listed maximum credit is the total amount allowable for tips, food and lodging combined, not for tips alone as in other states.

In New Jersey, in specific situations where the employer can prove to the satisfaction of the Labor Department that the tips actually received exceed the creditable amount, a higher tip credit may be taken.

9 North Carolina. Tip credit is not permitted unless the employer obtains from each employee, monthly or for each pay period, a signed certification of the amount of tips received.

10 Ohio. The minimum cash wage for tipped employees of employers with gross annual sales of $500,000 or less is $2.01 per hour. For non-tipped employees of such employers, the minimum rates are $3.35 for employers with sales from $150,000 to $500,000 and $2.80 with sales under $150.000.

11 Oklahoma. For employers with fewer than 10 full-time employees at any one location who have gross annual sales of $100,000 or less, the basic minimum rate is $2.00 per hour, with a 50% maximum tip credit.

12 Wisconsin. $2.13 per hour may be paid to employees who are not yet 20 years old and who have been in employment status with a particular employer for 90 or fewer consecutive calendar days from the date of initial employment.

Prepared By:

Division of External Affairs
Wage and Hour Division
Employment Standards Administration
U.S. Department of Labor

This document was last revised in December 2002; unless otherwise stated, the information reflects requirements that were in effect, or would take effect, as of January 1, 2003.