DOL Publishes 2026 Table Detailing State Tipped Minimum Wages

The DOL’s maintained table lists 2026 minimum‑wage and tipped‑wage rules by jurisdiction (state/local variations, tip-credit rules, and minimum cash‑wage amounts)." The U.S. Department of Labor’s updated table gives payroll officers, HR and worker advocates a single reference for how tipped wages vary across states and where employers must pay the full hourly rate before tips.

At the federal level the Fair Labor Standards Act baseline remains unchanged: the basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate is $7.25, the maximum tip credit is $5.12, and the minimum cash wage employers must pay is $2.13. The table repeats the federal definition of a tipped worker as someone who receives "more than $30" per month in tips. The explanatory material in the underlying charts defines the tipped minimum wage and tip credit plainly: "The tipped minimum wage, or minimum cash wage, is the lowest amount you can pay a tipped employee per hour of work." It also notes that "A 'tipped employee' is a worker in a service industry (e.g., restaurant) who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips," and that "The tip credit is the difference between the minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage."

The DOL table highlights important state exceptions and regional rules that matter to front-of-house staff and managers reconciling tip pools. Several states require employers to pay tipped employees the full state minimum wage before tips, removing the federal tip-credit calculation. Alaska, California, Guam, Minnesota and Montana are explicitly listed as requiring full state minimum pay; Montana also maintains a two-tier rule depending on gross annual sales, with a $10.85 minimum for businesses with sales over $110,000 and a $4.00 minimum for small businesses not covered by the FLSA.

New York is shown with area and job-specific rates that restaurants already accommodate: $14.15 for tipped service employees in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $11.35 for tipped food service workers in the same areas, with lower rates for the remainder of the state. Several Paycor- and Patriotsoftware-style charts included in the source material echo the DOL data and provide additional state snapshots: South Dakota’s combined rate is listed as $11.50 with a $5.75 minimum cash wage; Vermont’s combined rate appears as $14.01 with a $7.01 minimum cash wage; Washington is shown at $16.66 with dashes in the tip-credit columns, indicating no separate tip-credit calculation.

The table also restates DOL footnotes that affect application: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee do not have state minimum wage laws, and in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah state minimum wage laws exclude employment already covered by the FLSA. The materials reiterate the payroll imperative: "Restaurant employees who receive tips are entitled to a wage of at least $2.13 per hour, and more if their tips don't equal at least federal minimum wage. Employers can claim a tip credit in the amount that bring an employee's total earnings up to the federal or state minimum wage." For example, the classic federal calculation remains: "$7.25 and $2.13 for tipped workers, employers can claim a tip credit of $5.12."

For restaurants this means updating payroll runs, tip-pool policies and training for managers who reconcile daily sales and tips. Where third-party charts differed from the DOL table in the material provided, the DOL table is the federal reference point; employers should confirm any state conflicts with state labor departments. Expect routine checks of the DOL table to be part of 2026 payroll compliance and for managers to flag regional rules such as Montana’s sales thresholds and New York’s area-specific rates.