Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees

January 1, 2015 

Historical Tables 

Some states set subminimum 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 Minnesota. Effective August 1, 2014, a large employer means an enterprise whose gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $500,000. A small employer means an enterprise whose gross volume of sales made or business done is less than $500,000.

3 In New Jersey 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 Department of Labor and Workforce Development that the tips actually received exceed the creditable amount, a higher tip credit may be taken.

4 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.

5 Ohio . For employees of employers with gross annual sales of less than $297,000, the state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. For these employees, the state wage is tied to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour which requires an act of Congress and the President’s signature to change.

6 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.

7 West Virginia . For employers with six or more employees and for state agencies.

8 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.

9 The following states do not have state minimum wage laws: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Georgia exempts tipped employees under the law.

10 A business not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act whose gross annual sales are $110,000 or less may pay $4.00 per hour, however, if an individual employee is producing or moving goods between states or otherwise covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, that employee must be paid the greater of either the federal minimum wage or Montana’s minimum wage.

Prepared By : 

Division of Communications 
Wage and Hour Division 
U.S. Department of Labor 

This document was last revised in December 2014.

The Wage and Hour Division tries to ensure that the information on this page is accurate but individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.