Federal Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 an Hour Since 2009

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Congress set that rate in 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C), and it has applied since July 24, 2009. DOL states that it rises only when Congress passes a bill and the President signs it, and no increase has been enacted since. Many workers earn more because their state or city sets a higher rate, but $7.25 is the floor that applies nationwide to covered, nonexempt employees.

Information last verified on 2026-09-28. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 and following, and its federal regulations. It does not cover any single state's minimum wage, overtime rules in detail, or the laws of other countries.

What is the federal minimum wage right now?

The rate is $7.25 per hour for covered, nonexempt employees, effective July 24, 2009, according to DOL's Wage and Hour Division. The statute sets the schedule in three steps:

"(A) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after May 25, 2007; (B) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (C) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day"

The third step, $7.25, began 24 months after that 60th day, which DOL dates as July 24, 2009.

Is the federal minimum wage going up?

Not under current law. DOL's FAQ says the minimum wage does not increase automatically and that Congress must pass a bill which the President signs into law for it to go up. As of the verification date above, the rate has been $7.25 since July 24, 2009, and none of the bills below has been enacted.

The 119th Congress has several bills that would raise the rate. The table lists each bill as govinfo's bill status records show it. Every one was introduced and referred to a committee, and none is law.

A bill that has only been introduced or referred to committee is not law. If one is later enacted, the new rate would apply from the date the enacted text sets. The status data comes from govinfo bill status records as of the verification date above.

Who does the federal minimum wage cover?

Section 206(a) requires every employer to pay minimum wages to each employee who is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or who is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. That gives two routes to coverage.

• Enterprise coverage. Under 29 U.S.C. 203(s)(1)(A), an enterprise engaged in commerce is covered if its annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $500,000 (exclusive of certain separately stated retail excise taxes). Hospitals, residential care institutions, schools and public agencies are covered enterprises regardless of sales volume (29 U.S.C. 203(s)(1)(B) and (C)).
• Individual coverage. Employees of smaller firms are also covered if their own work is engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, according to DOL's FAQ.

Coverage is not the same as being owed $7.25. A covered worker can still fall under an exemption, a special certificate or a higher state rate, all discussed below.

Do states and cities have to follow $7.25?

No, they can require more. Under 29 U.S.C. 218(a), nothing in the FLSA excuses noncompliance with a federal or state law or a municipal ordinance that sets a higher minimum wage. DOL's FAQ says the same thing: where state law requires a higher minimum wage, that higher standard applies, and an employee covered by both laws is entitled to the higher rate.

Most states set a higher rate than $7.25. According to DOL's state minimum wage table, last updated July 1, 2026, five states have no state minimum wage law: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Employers covered by the FLSA in those states must pay $7.25. DOL's table also lists Georgia and Wyoming with a state rate of $5.15, which is below the federal rate, so the federal rate governs covered workers there.

The same table lists these states at $7.25: Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Its Oklahoma entry is $7.25 for larger employers and $2.00 for small employers; FLSA-covered workers there are owed at least $7.25. State rates change, and DOL's table can lag a state's own schedule, so check the state's labor agency for the current rate where you work. DOL notes that its table does not display local differentials, so a city or county may set a higher rate than the state.

What is the federal tipped minimum wage?

The federal minimum cash wage for a tipped employee is $2.13 per hour. Under DOL's tipped-employee table (revised July 1, 2026), the maximum tip credit is $5.12, which is the $7.25 minimum less the $2.13 cash wage. Section 203(m)(2)(A) of the FLSA sets the conditions but does not itself print those dollar figures. The tip credit works only if all of these are true:

1. The cash wage is not less than the cash wage required on August 20, 1996, which DOL and 29 CFR 531.56(d) state as at least $2.13 per hour.
2. The employee's tips make up the difference between the cash wage and $7.25. The credit cannot exceed the tips the employee actually received.
3. The employer has informed the employee of the tip credit provisions.
4. The employee keeps all tips, except that pooling among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips is allowed.

If tips plus the cash wage fall short of $7.25, the employer must pay the difference. A tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips (29 U.S.C. 203(t)).

Who keeps the tips?

Employers may not keep employees' tips. The statute is direct:

"An employer may not keep tips received by its employees for any purposes, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion of employees' tips, regardless of whether or not the employer takes a tip credit."

That is 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B). DOL's tips page says the same rules reach tip pools: managers and supervisors may not keep tips from a pool.

Tipped workers who do other jobs

The regulation at 29 CFR 531.56(e) treats a worker who holds two jobs with one employer by the job. Its example is a hotel maintenance worker who also waits tables: the worker, if the waiter work customarily and regularly brings in more than $30 a month in tips, is a tipped employee only when waiting tables, so no tip credit applies to the maintenance hours. The regulation also says related duties within a tipped occupation need not by themselves be directed toward producing tips.

A 2021 DOL rule changed this area. The Fifth Circuit vacated that rule in 2024 in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, and on December 16, 2024 DOL announced a technical rule restoring the original regulation at 29 CFR 531.56(e). The original regulation is the text now in the eCFR.

Many states allow a smaller tip credit or none at all, and several require the full state minimum in cash before tips, according to DOL's tipped-employee table.

Can an employer pay less than $7.25?

Yes, in a few defined situations, each of them narrow.

Newly hired workers under 20

Section 206(g) lets an employer pay a newly hired employee under 20 years old not less than $4.25 per hour during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is initially employed by that employer. DOL's FAQ adds the condition that the work must not displace other workers. After 90 days, or when the worker turns 20, the employer must pay at least $7.25.

Full-time students, learners and workers with disabilities

Section 214 allows the Secretary of Labor to authorize lower wages through special certificates. Three categories matter most:

• Learners, apprentices and messengers. Section 214(a) provides for special certificates at wages below the minimum wage, limited as to time, number, proportion and length of service.
• Full-time students. Section 214(b)(1)(A) allows certificates for full-time students, regardless of age, in retail or service establishments at not less than 85 percent of the otherwise applicable wage, or $1.60 an hour, whichever is higher. DOL's FAQ says student programs also reach agriculture and colleges and universities, with hour limits, and describes a separate student-learner program at 75 percent for vocational education students who are at least 16.
• Workers with disabilities (section 14(c)). Section 214(c)(1) allows certificates for individuals whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury. Their wages must be commensurate with those paid to workers without disabilities for essentially the same work and related to productivity.

DOL proposed in December 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 96466) to phase out section 14(c) certificates. It withdrew that proposal effective July 7, 2025, and formally discontinued the rulemaking. The certificates themselves remain authorized by the statute.

Are some workers exempt from the federal minimum wage?

Yes. Section 213 of the FLSA exempts many categories. Here are the ones that come up most often. Whether an exemption applies turns on the actual job duties and how the worker is paid, not on the job title.

• Executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 213(a)(1) exempts bona fide employees in these capacities (including academic administrative personnel and elementary or secondary school teachers), as the Secretary of Labor defines them by regulation. For executive, administrative and professional employees, the regulation at 29 CFR 541.600(a), as shown in the eCFR through September 25, 2026, requires pay on a salary basis of not less than $684 per week, with lower figures in some territories. That salary test does not apply to teachers or to licensed lawyers and doctors practicing their profession (29 CFR 541.600(e)).
• Some agricultural employees. Section 213(a)(6)(A) exempts an agricultural employee whose employer used no more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding year. Other agricultural exemptions follow in the same subsection.
• Casual babysitters and companionship workers. Section 213(a)(15) exempts casual babysitters and employees who provide companionship services for individuals unable to care for themselves because of age or infirmity. Under 29 CFR 552.109, a third-party employer, such as a staffing agency, cannot claim the companionship exemption.
• Other exemptions. Section 213 also covers other groups, including certain seasonal amusement or recreational establishments. Read the section or ask DOL before relying on any exemption.

Overtime is a separate FLSA requirement, and our overtime calculator covers that side.

What about federal contractors?

Two executive orders set higher minimums for some workers on federal contracts. Both are separate from the $7.25 statutory rate.

Executive Order 14026 (April 27, 2021, "Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors") was revoked by Executive Order 14236, signed March 14, 2025 and published in the Federal Register on March 20, 2025. DOL's page on the order says the Department is no longer enforcing it or its implementing rule.

DOL continues to apply Executive Order 13658. DOL's contract minimum wage page lists $13.65 per hour for non-tipped employees and $9.55 for tipped employees, effective May 11, 2026. That rate applies to covered contracts entered into, renewed or extended from January 1, 2015 through January 29, 2022. When this page was last verified, DOL's page did not show a rate for 2027. Check that page before relying on a rate for work after 2026.

How do you enforce the federal minimum wage?

A worker has two main routes: an administrative complaint to DOL, and a lawsuit.

Filing a complaint with DOL

The Wage and Hour Division takes complaints by phone at 1-866-487-9243, with general questions accepted online. DOL says it may not disclose a complainant's identity or whether a complaint exists, and that employers cannot retaliate. For a wider look at collecting unpaid pay, see our guide to unpaid wages.

Back wages and damages

Under 29 U.S.C. 216(b), an employer who violates section 206 is liable for the affected employee's unpaid minimum wages and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. A court may award less or no liquidated damages if the employer shows it acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to believe it was not violating the FLSA (29 U.S.C. 260). One or more employees can sue in federal or state court for themselves and others similarly situated, and each must file a written consent to become a party plaintiff. The court must also award a reasonable attorney's fee and the costs of the action to a prevailing plaintiff. Tip violations under section 203(m)(2)(B) carry the tip credit taken, the tips kept and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Civil money penalties

Section 216(e)(2) authorizes civil penalties for repeated or willful minimum wage violations and for tip-keeping violations. Its base figure is $1,100 per violation, adjusted for inflation in 29 CFR 578.3. The eCFR text current through September 25, 2026 lists up to $2,515 per violation for repeated or willful violations of the minimum wage or overtime provisions, and up to $1,409 per violation for tip violations.

Deadlines

Under 29 U.S.C. 255(a), an action must generally be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, or within three years for a willful violation. Acting early matters.

Retaliation

Section 215(a)(3) makes it unlawful to discharge or discriminate against an employee because the employee filed a complaint or started or testified in an FLSA proceeding. Relief under section 216(b) for retaliation can include reinstatement, lost wages and an equal amount as liquidated damages.

How did the federal minimum wage get to $7.25?

Congress raised the rate in three steps from 2007 to 2009. DOL's history page and the statute agree on the dates:

The third step is the rate still in force. The statute counts each step from the 60th day after May 25, 2007.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not legal advice. It reflects federal law as verified on 2026-09-28. For advice about your specific situation, consult a lawyer licensed in your state or contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division or your state labor agency.

Related

• Unpaid wages and final paychecks
• Overtime calculator

Last updated: 2026-09-28.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the federal minimum wage?

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for covered, nonexempt employees, effective July 24, 2009 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C); DOL Wage and Hour Division FAQ).

What is the federal minimum wage in 2026?

It is still $7.25 per hour. DOL states that the minimum wage does not increase automatically, and the rate has been $7.25 since July 24, 2009.

Is the federal minimum wage going up?

Not under current law. DOL says Congress must pass a bill and the President must sign it. Several bills in the 119th Congress would raise the rate, but govinfo records show them only as introduced and referred to committee, so none is law.

What is the federal tipped minimum wage?

The federal minimum cash wage for a tipped employee is $2.13 per hour, with a maximum tip credit of $5.12. If tips plus $2.13 do not reach $7.25, the employer must pay the difference (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A); DOL tipped-employee table).

Does the federal minimum wage apply if my state has its own?

Yes, but the higher standard controls. Under 29 U.S.C. 218(a), the FLSA does not excuse noncompliance with a state law or city ordinance that sets a higher minimum wage.

Who is exempt from the federal minimum wage?

Section 213 lists exemptions, including bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees, some agricultural employees, and certain domestic service workers. Whether an exemption fits depends on the duties and pay of the specific job.

Can an employer pay a teenager less than $7.25?

An employer may pay a newly hired employee under 20 not less than $4.25 per hour during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with that employer (29 U.S.C. 206(g)). After 90 days, or at age 20, the regular rate applies.

How long do I have to file a minimum wage claim?

A suit under the FLSA generally must begin within two years after the cause of action accrued, or three years if the violation was willful (29 U.S.C. 255(a)).

Where do I report an employer who pays less than the federal minimum wage?

DOL's Wage and Hour Division takes complaints by phone at 1-866-487-9243 and answers general questions online. DOL says employers cannot retaliate against a worker for filing.

When did the federal minimum wage last change?

It last changed on July 24, 2009, when the third and final step of the 2007 increase took effect, from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.