Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers

From January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024, the minimum hourly rates that employers must pay to tipped workers are:

New York State law allows employers in the hospitality industry to satisfy the minimum wage by combining a “cash wage” paid by the employer with a credit or allowance for tips that the employee receives from customers. For example, the minimum wage for food service workers in New York City is $16.00 per hour. Their employers can satisfy the minimum wage by combining a cash wage of at least $10.65 with a tip allowance of no more than $5.35 per hour.

• Days when tipped workers spend more than two hours, or twenty percent of a shift, doing non-tipped work 
• Weeks when service employees receive tips averaging less per hour than the following:

No tip credit is available in the building service Industry.

The tip credit is not available when weekly tips average less than the minimum amount specified for the location and size of employer.

Please Note: As of December 31, 2020, tip allowances are not permitted in miscellaneous industries (all other industries except hospitality, farm workers, and building service). Employers are not permitted to keep or retain any portion of a tip that an employee receives.

For tipped workers, employers must pay overtime hours worked at time-and-one-half the minimum wage rate, less the applicable tip credit.

If you need additional assistance, or want to file a complaint, please call 1-888-4NYSDOL (1-888-469-7365).