Rachel B. Lerner
Tues., January 7, 2025
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that sets forth minimum wage and overtime protections for workers across the county. However, states and, in some circumstances, local jurisdictions are permitted to enact more generous minimum wage and overtime laws, and many have. Employers are required to ensure that their wage and hour practices comply with both the FLSA and any applicable state (or local) laws.
More than Half of the States and Some Local Jurisdictions Require Higher Minimum Wages than the FLSA
Under the FLSA, the minimum hourly wage is only $7.25 per hour, which it has been since 2009. However, 31 states have minimum wage laws that provide for a higher minimum hourly wage than the FLSA, ranging from $8.75 in West Virginia to $17.50 in the District of Columbia. Some states have different minimum wages for different cities or areas within the state. For example, in New York, the minimum wage is $15.50 per hour, but is raised to $16.50 per hour in New York City, and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties.
If a state does not have a minimum wage law, then the FLSA minimum wage of $7.25 per hour applies. The FLSA sets the floor for worker protections – states are not permitted to enact laws that provide for fewer protections, or a lower minimum wage.
The chart below details which states have a greater minimum wage than the FLSA, which states have laws that call for a minimum wage equal to the FLSA, and which ones do not have a minimum wage law, or call for a minimum wage less than the FLSA (in which case, the FLSA minimum wage applies).
| Minimum Wage Greater than FLSA (as of January 1, 2025) | Minimum Wage Equal to FLSA | No State Minimum Wage Law, or State Minimum Wage Less than FLSA |
| Alaska, $11.91 | Iowa | Alabama |
| Arizona, $14.70 | Idaho | Georgia |
| Arkansas, $11.00 | Indiana | Louisiana |
| California, $16.50 | Kansas | Mississippi |
| Colorado, $14.81 | Kentucky | South Carolina |
| Connecticut, $16.35 | North Carolina | Tennessee |
| Delaware, $15.00 | North Dakota | Wyoming |
| District of Columbia, $17.50 | New Hampshire | |
| Florida, $13.00 | Oklahoma | |
| Hawaii, $14.00 | Pennsylvania | |
| Illinois, $15.00 | Texas | |
| Maine, $14.65 | Utah | |
| Maryland, $15.00 | Wisconsin | |
| Massachusetts, $15.00 | ||
| Michigan, $10.56 | ||
| Minnesota, $11.13 | ||
| Missouri, $13.75 | ||
| Montana, $10.55 | ||
| Nebraska, $13.50 | ||
| New Jersey, $15.49 for most employers; $14.53 for seasonal and small employers (less than six workers) | ||
| New Mexico, $12.00 | ||
| Nevada, $12.00 | ||
| New York, $15.50 ($16.50 for New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester) | ||
| Ohio, $10.70 | ||
| Oregon, $14.70 ($15.95 for Portland; $13.70 for non-urban counties) | ||
| Rhode Island, $15.00 | ||
| South Dakota, $11.50 | ||
| Vermont, $14.01 | ||
| Virginia, $12.41 | ||
| Washington, $16.66 | ||
| West Virginia, $8.75 |
States and Local Jurisdictions May Provide Overtime to Additional Workers and/or More Generous Protections than the FLSA
Under the FLSA, employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Like with minimum wage laws, many states have their own overtime laws. Some of these states provide more generous protections for employees. Some employees work in jobs that are exempted from the FLSA such as professionals and high level management employees. Some of these employees, however, are covered by state laws.
The following states do not have any state overtime law, and therefore, only the FLSA protections apply.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Wyoming
California is the only state to mandate overtime be paid at twice the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 12 in a day.
States Extend Statutes of Limitations beyond the FLSA
Many states’ overtime laws also provide for a longer statute of limitations than the FLSA. Under the FLSA, a claim for unpaid overtime can go back two years, or three years if the violations are willful. Some states allow for a longer look back period. Below is a chart highlighting which states have longer statutes of limitations – either a mandatory three years, or longer.
| State | Statute of Limitations |
| Arkansas | 3 years |
| California | 3 years |
| Hawaii | 6 years |
| Illinois | 3 years |
| Indiana | 3 years |
| Kansas | 3 years |
| Kentucky | 5 years |
| Maine | 6 years |
| Maryland | 3 years |
| Massachusetts | 3 years |
| Michigan | 3 years |
| Missouri | 3 years |
| Nevada | 3 years |
| New Jersey | 6 years |
| New Mexico | 3 years |
| New York | 6 years |
| Ohio | 3 years |
| Pennsylvania | 3 years |
| Rhode Island | 3 years |
| Washington | 3 years |
Some Government Employees May be Entitled to Wage & Hour Protections under State Laws
Government employees, both for the federal government, and for state and local governments, are covered by the FLSA. There are, however, a few differences between the FLSA protections for private sector and public sector employees. For example, under the FLSA for federal employees, overtime must be paid for any hours worked over 40 in a week or for any hours over 8 in a day. Additionally, compensatory time in lieu of monetary compensation for overtime is permitted for public sector employees under the FLSA.
Public sector employees are often also protected under any applicable state wage and hour laws. However, some states explicitly exclude public sector employees from state wage and hour protections. For example, the following states overtime laws do not apply to public sector employees so those employees are covered only by the overtime protections of the FLSA:
- California
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Alaska
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Wisconsin
Like the FLSA, many states also allow public sector employees to receive compensatory time at a rate of time and a half, instead of cash overtime payments.
McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP represents employees nationwide in a variety of cases alleging minimum wage and overtime violations under both the FLSA and state law. If you believe your employer is violating your rights to minimum wage or overtime, please contact us.
