# Wage and Hour Law in Idaho[^about]
A plain-language guide to Idaho wage-and-hour law covering the $7.25 minimum wage that Idaho's Minimum Wage Law ties to the federal minimum wage, the $3.35 direct-wage floor for tipped employees, the absence of any Idaho overtime statute for private employers and of any meal or rest break statute for adult employees, final-pay deadlines and the late-pay penalty, monthly paydays and deduction statements, how Idaho statutes define employees, and how wage claims are enforced through the Idaho Department of Labor and the courts.
## What is the minimum wage? {#minimum-wage}
**Short answer.** Idaho's standard minimum wage is $7.25 an hour for employees covered by its Minimum Wage Law [^idaho-minimum-wage-hourly-rate]. The statute says this amount conforms to, and tracks with, the federal minimum wage [^idaho-minimum-wage-federal-tracking].
No Idaho political subdivision may set a higher minimum wage by ordinance or other action [^idaho-local-minimum-wage-preemption].
The Minimum Wage Law does not apply to certain groups of workers. The excluded groups include bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees; people in domestic service; outside salespeople; seasonal employees of a nonprofit camping program; children under sixteen working part time or at odd jobs for no more than four hours a day with any one employer; and employees under eighteen who work for an immediate family member or that family member's business [^idaho-minimum-wage-act-exemptions].
For workers under twenty, an employer may pay an employee who is not yet twenty years old at least $4.25 an hour during the first ninety consecutive calendar days after the employee is first hired [^idaho-under-twenty-opportunity-wage]. An employer may not displace employees to hire people at that wage. That ban covers partial displacements such as cuts to hours, wages or employment benefits [^idaho-opportunity-wage-displacement-bar].
For apprentices and learners, the director of the Idaho Department of Labor may issue an apprentice or learner a special license. The license allows employment below the minimum wage, for the time and under the conditions the director sets [^idaho-apprentice-learner-special-license].
For workers with disabilities, the minimum-wage payment requirement does not apply to a worker with disabilities if the employer is issued a special certificate under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act [^idaho-disability-special-certificate-exception].
## When is overtime owed? {#overtime}
**Short answer.** No Idaho statute requires private employers to pay overtime, daily or weekly, and Idaho's state-personnel overtime statute for state employees does not reach private employers [^idaho-state-employee-overtime-compensation]. Under it, the appointing authority of a state department decides when overtime work is necessary and provides cash pay or compensatory time off for that work to eligible classified officers and employees, subject to applicable federal law [^idaho-state-employee-overtime-compensation].
Federal law on this point is discussed in the [federal wage and hour guide](/practice-guides/wage-and-hour/us).
## Are breaks required? {#meal-rest-breaks}
**Short answer.** No Idaho statute requires employers to give adult employees meal or rest breaks, and Idaho's working-hours rule for children under sixteen does not require a break either [^idaho-under-sixteen-hours-limit].
A person under sixteen may not work more than fifty-four hours in a week or more than nine hours in a day, and may not work before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m. [^idaho-under-sixteen-hours-limit].
Children under fourteen face tighter limits. They may not work in or in connection with listed workplaces, including mines, factories, workshops, stores, laundries, restaurants and hotels [^idaho-under-fourteen-workplace-bar]. They also may not be employed in any business while the local public schools are in session, or before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m. [^idaho-under-fourteen-school-hours]. A student may, however, be employed by the public schools of the district for up to ten hours a week if the employment is voluntary and the student's legal guardian consents [^idaho-under-fourteen-school-district-exception]. A child over twelve may also work in the occupations the chapter mentions during public school vacations of two weeks or more [^idaho-under-fourteen-school-hours].
These child-labor sections do not address meal periods, rest breaks, or whether break time is paid [^idaho-under-sixteen-hours-limit] [^idaho-under-fourteen-workplace-bar] [^idaho-under-fourteen-school-hours]. Federal law on this point is discussed in the [federal wage and hour guide](/practice-guides/wage-and-hour/us).
## When is final pay due? {#final-pay}
**Short answer.** On layoff or termination by either side, Idaho employers must pay hourly or salaried employees all wages due by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or within ten days, weekends and holidays excluded, unless an employee's written request or a director's extension applies [^idaho-final-pay-deadline]. A written request from the employee shortens the deadline to forty-eight hours after the employer receives it, weekends and holidays excluded, and the director of the Idaho Department of Labor may grant an employer a temporary extension on an application showing good and sufficient reasons [^idaho-final-pay-written-request] [^idaho-final-pay-director-extension]. The wages must be paid or made available at the usual place of payment [^idaho-final-pay-deadline].
Some employees are not paid on an hourly or salary basis. Unless they are exempt from the Minimum Wage Law, they must receive at least the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked in the pay period just before the layoff or termination [^idaho-final-pay-nonhourly-minimum]. Any additional wages owed to those employees must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payday [^idaho-final-pay-additional-wages-payday].
**Late-pay penalty.** If an employer fails to pay all wages due by these deadlines, the employee's wages continue at the same rate, as if the employee were still working in the same way, until the wages are paid in full or for fifteen days, whichever is less [^idaho-late-final-pay-penalty]. The penalty can never exceed $750. If the full wages are paid before a wage lien is filed, the cap is $500 [^idaho-late-pay-penalty-caps].
No penalty may be assessed when the employer pays all undisputed wages within the final-pay deadlines, unless the remaining balance was withheld willfully, arbitrarily and without just cause [^idaho-undisputed-wages-penalty-bar].
If an employee accepts a check that carries a restrictive endorsement, that does not release the employee's claim to the disputed amount and does not count as an accord and satisfaction [^idaho-restrictive-endorsement-no-release].
An employee who hides or stays away to avoid payment, or who refuses to receive payment made available under the final-pay rules, is not entitled to any penalty [^idaho-penalty-lost-avoiding-payment].
"Any employee who secretes or absents himself to avoid payment, or refuses to receive payment when made available as provided for in section 45-606, Idaho Code, shall not be entitled to any penalty under this chapter."[^idaho-penalty-lost-avoiding-payment]
> [!NOTE]
> **Practice note.**
>
> A separation or settlement clause that delays undisputed final wages beyond the final-pay deadline forfeits the protection available for timely payment of undisputed wages [^idaho-undisputed-wages-penalty-bar].
## How often must workers be paid? {#pay-frequency}
**Short answer.** Idaho employers must pay all wages due at least once each calendar month, on regular paydays the employer designates in advance [^idaho-monthly-regular-payday]. Payment may be made in lawful money of the United States, or by check if the employee can cash it without charge [^idaho-monthly-regular-payday].
The pay period covered by a regular payday must end no more than fifteen days before that payday. If the payday falls on a nonworkday, payment must be made on an earlier workday [^idaho-pay-period-fifteen-day-lag]. The director of the Idaho Department of Labor may allow an employer to pay later than that fifteen-day period on an application showing good and sufficient reasons [^idaho-director-pay-lag-permission]. The director may levy a civil penalty on an employer that failed to obtain that exemption and has been determined to have undertaken a consistent pattern of untimely payment of wages; the penalty may not exceed $500 for the employer per pay period [^idaho-payday-penalty-per-period].
**Deductions.** An employer may not withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages unless one of two conditions is met. Either state or federal law requires or empowers the employer to do so, or the employee has given written authorization for deductions for a lawful purpose [^idaho-wage-deduction-conditions].
**What the employee must receive.** For each pay period in which deductions are made, the employer must give each employee a statement of those deductions [^idaho-deduction-statement-required]. The cited sections do not list other items a pay stub must show [^idaho-deduction-statement-required].
At hiring, employers must tell employees their rate of pay and the usual payday, and must put that information in writing if the employee asks [^idaho-hiring-pay-rate-notice]. Employers must also give notice of any wage reduction before the work is performed, in writing if the employee asks [^idaho-wage-reduction-advance-notice].
> [!NOTE]
> **Practice note.**
>
> A payroll statement form that omits deductions can expose the employer to misdemeanor liability when the required statement is willfully withheld [^idaho-deduction-statement-misdemeanor].
## Employee or independent contractor? {#worker-classification}
**Short answer.** For Idaho wage-payment claims, the Idaho Court of Appeals in *Hill* treats the employer's retained right to control the work as the general test of employee status [^idaho-hill-right-to-control-test] [^idaho-hill-actual-indicia-over-labels]. *Hill* looks not to the labels the parties apply but to the actual indicia of the relationship [^idaho-hill-actual-indicia-over-labels]. Under that test, a person is deemed an employee when the employer retains the right to control and direct the details of the work and to set the hours and the times to start and stop [^idaho-hill-right-to-control-test].
Idaho's wage-payment chapter defines an employee as any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer [^idaho-wage-payment-employee-definition].
The Minimum Wage Law uses similar language. To employ includes to suffer or permit to work, and an employee includes any individual employed by an employer [^idaho-minimum-wage-employ-definition]. Under that law, an employer does not include the United States, any state or political subdivision of a state, or a labor organization except when it acts as an employer [^idaho-minimum-wage-employer-definition].
For purposes of the employment security law, services an individual performs for pay are covered employment unless both of two conditions are shown. First, the worker has been and will continue to be free from control or direction in doing the work, both under the contract and in fact. Second, the worker is engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business [^idaho-employment-security-control-test].
For worker's compensation purposes, title 72, chapter 1 defines an independent contractor as a person who performs services for a specified payment toward a specified result. The principal controls, or has the right to control, only the result of the work, not the means of achieving it [^idaho-workers-comp-contractor-definition].
## Is a tip credit allowed? {#tip-credit}
**Short answer.** Idaho employers may count tips a tipped employee actually receives toward the employee's wage, but the direct wage the employer pays must be at least $3.35 an hour [^idaho-tipped-direct-wage-floor].
If the employee's tips plus the employer's direct wages do not at least equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference [^idaho-tipped-wage-make-up-duty].
A tipped employee is one who works in an occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips [^idaho-tipped-employee-definition]. Any tips an employee shares with other employees through a tip pool or similar arrangement do not count as tips that employee actually received [^idaho-tip-pool-share-excluded]. If the employer and employee disagree about how much the employee received in tips, the employer bears the burden of showing the amount [^idaho-tip-dispute-employer-burden].
## How is it enforced? {#enforcement}
**Short answer.** Idaho workers owed wages under the wage-payment chapter may file a wage claim with the Idaho Department of Labor or, as an alternative, sue in any court of competent jurisdiction [^idaho-wage-claim-court-alternative].
**Department wage claims (title 45, chapter 6).** The director may hold hearings, investigate actual or alleged violations, and issue orders for the administrative remedies the chapter authorizes [^idaho-director-wage-hearings-orders]. Not counting potential penalties, wage claims filed with the department are capped at the same dollar amount that caps small claims cases in magistrate court [^idaho-department-claim-dollar-limit]. Once a wage claim is properly filed with the department, the department-claim section provides the exclusive remedy for resolving it [^idaho-department-claim-exclusive-remedy]. The department may award a penalty only if it specifically finds that wages were withheld willfully, arbitrarily and without just cause [^idaho-department-penalty-willful-finding].
**Lawsuits (title 45, chapter 6).** A court judgment for the employee may include costs and attorney's fees reasonably incurred. The employee recovers whichever is greater: the unpaid wages plus the late-pay penalties, or three times the unpaid wages [^idaho-wage-suit-fees-treble-damages]. An employee who sues on a claim the employee knew was false when filing is liable for the employer's attorney's fees and costs in defending against that claim [^idaho-false-wage-claim-fee-liability]. Knowingly making a false wage claim is also a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both [^idaho-false-wage-claim-misdemeanor].
**Filing deadlines (title 45, chapter 6).** Claims for wages, penalties and liquidated damages must be filed with the department or in court within two years after the claim accrues. If wages were paid for a pay period and the employee claims more for work in that period, the deadline is twelve months from accrual [^idaho-wage-claim-limitation-periods].
**Wage liens (title 45, chapter 6).** Once a lien notice is properly filed, all amounts due become a lien on the person's entire legal or equitable interest in any nonexempt property in Idaho, real or personal [^idaho-wage-claim-property-lien].
**Minimum Wage Law (title 44, chapter 15).** When the director has reason to believe an employer is violating, or will violate, the Minimum Wage Law, the director may sue to stop the conduct and enforce compliance [^idaho-director-minimum-wage-injunction]. A claim for unpaid minimum wages may be treated as a wage claim under the wage-payment chapter [^idaho-minimum-wage-claim-chapter-six]. Such a claim is not subject to the dollar cap on department wage claims [^idaho-minimum-wage-claim-no-dollar-limit]. A court action for those wages must be filed within two years after the claim accrues [^idaho-minimum-wage-action-two-years].
**Retaliation.** The wage-payment chapter bars employers from firing or otherwise retaliating against an employee for complaining of unpaid wages to the employer or the department, for suing over unpaid wages, or for testifying, or being about to testify, in a department investigation or hearing [^idaho-wage-payment-retaliation-bar]. Separately, the Minimum Wage Law bars employers from firing or otherwise discriminating against an employee for complaining of not being paid as that law requires [^idaho-minimum-wage-retaliation-bar].
**Records and posting.** Under the wage-payment chapter, employment records must be kept for at least three years after the employee's last day of service [^idaho-employment-records-three-years]. Under the Minimum Wage Law, every covered employer must post a summary of the law, which the director furnishes free of charge, in a conspicuous place where employees work or in a place employees can reach [^idaho-minimum-wage-summary-posting].
The wage-payment chapter states what happens when those deadlines pass.
"In the event an action is not commenced as herein provided, any remedy on the cause of action shall be forever barred."[^idaho-untimely-wage-claim-barred]
[^about]: By Steven Obiajulu, J.D. Published by [openagreements.org](https://openagreements.org). Last updated 2026-10-08. License: CC BY 4.0. Steven Obiajulu, J.D. is admitted in New York, not Idaho. This article synthesizes Idaho primary law and is not legal advice from an Idaho-admitted attorney. This article is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Source excerpts and linked materials belong to their owners. CC BY 4.0. Cite as Steven Obiajulu, *Wage and Hour Law in Idaho*, OpenAgreements (last updated October 8, 2026), https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/wage-and-hour/us/idaho.
[^idaho-minimum-wage-hourly-rate]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, no employer shall pay to any of his employees any wages computed at a rate of less than seven dollars and twenty-five cents ($7.25) per hour for employment." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(1)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-federal-tracking]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "The amount of the minimum wage shall conform to, and track with, the federal minimum wage." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(1)*
[^idaho-local-minimum-wage-preemption]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "No political subdivision of this state, as defined by section 6-902, Idaho Code, shall establish by ordinance or other action minimum wages higher than the minimum wages provided in this section." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(4)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-act-exemptions]: **Idaho Code § 44-1504** — "The provisions of this act shall not apply to: (1) Any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity; or (2) Anyone engaged in domestic service; or (3) Any individual employed as an outside salesman; or (4) Seasonal employees of a nonprofit camping program; or (5) Any child under the age of sixteen (16) years working part time or at odd jobs not exceeding a total of four (4) hours per day with any one (1) employer; or (6) Any employee under the age of eighteen (18) years who is employed by an immediate family member or such family member’s business;" *Idaho Code § 44-1504(1)-(6)*
[^idaho-under-twenty-opportunity-wage]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "In lieu of the rate prescribed by subsection (1) of this section, an employer may pay an employee who has not attained twenty (20) years of age a wage which is not less than four dollars and twenty-five cents ($4.25) an hour during the first ninety (90) consecutive calendar days after such employee is initially employed." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(3)*
[^idaho-opportunity-wage-displacement-bar]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "No employer may take any action to displace employees (including partial displacements such as reduction in hours, wages or employment benefits) for purposes of hiring individuals at the wage authorized in this subsection." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(3)*
[^idaho-apprentice-learner-special-license]: **Idaho Code § 44-1506** — "For any employment in which the minimum wage is applicable, the director of the department of labor may issue to an apprentice or learner a special license authorizing the employment of such apprentice or learner for the time and under the conditions which he determines and at a wage less than the minimum wage established by this act." *Idaho Code § 44-1506*
[^idaho-disability-special-certificate-exception]: **Idaho Code § 44-1505** — "The payment of the minimum wage under this act shall not apply to a worker with disabilities, if the employer is issued a special certificate, as provided now or hereafter under the federal fair labor standards act." *Idaho Code § 44-1505*
[^idaho-state-employee-overtime-compensation]: **Idaho Code § 67-5328** — "The appointing authority of any department shall determine the necessity for overtime work and shall provide for cash compensation or compensatory time off for such overtime work for eligible classified officers and employees, subject to the restrictions of applicable federal law." *Idaho Code § 67-5328(2)*
[^idaho-under-sixteen-hours-limit]: **Idaho Code § 44-1304** — "No person under the age of sixteen (16) years shall be employed or suffered or permitted to work at any gainful occupation more than fifty-four (54) hours in any one week, nor more than nine (9) hours in any one day; nor before the hour of six o’clock in the morning nor after the hour of nine o’clock in the evening." *Idaho Code § 44-1304*
[^idaho-under-fourteen-workplace-bar]: **Idaho Code § 44-1301** — "No child under fourteen (14) years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in connection with any mine, factory, workshop, mercantile establishment, store, telegraph or telephone office, laundry, restaurant, hotel, apartment house, or in the distribution or transmission of merchandise or messages." *Idaho Code § 44-1301*
[^idaho-under-fourteen-school-hours]: **Idaho Code § 44-1301** — "It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to employ any child under fourteen (14) years of age in any business or service whatever during the hours in which the public schools of the district in which the child resides are in session, or before the hour of six o’clock in the morning, or after the hour of nine o’clock in the evening: provided, that any child over the age of twelve (12) years may be employed at any of the occupations mentioned in this chapter during the regular vacations of two (2) weeks or more of the public schools of the district in which such child resides." *Idaho Code § 44-1301*
[^idaho-under-fourteen-school-district-exception]: **Idaho Code § 44-1301** — "Provided however, a student may be employed by the public schools of the district for a maximum of ten (10) hours per week provided such employment is voluntary and with the consent of the student’s legal guardian." *Idaho Code § 44-1301*
[^idaho-final-pay-deadline]: **Idaho Code § 45-606** — "Upon layoff, or upon termination of employment by either the employer or employee, the employer shall pay or make available at the usual place of payment all wages then due the employee by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or within ten (10) days of such layoff or termination, weekends and holidays excluded." *Idaho Code § 45-606(1)*
[^idaho-final-pay-written-request]: **Idaho Code § 45-606** — "However, if the employee makes written request upon the employer for earlier payment of wages, all wages then due the employee shall be paid within forty-eight (48) hours of the receipt of such request, weekends and holidays excluded." *Idaho Code § 45-606(1)*
[^idaho-final-pay-director-extension]: **Idaho Code § 45-606** — "The director may, upon application showing good and sufficient reasons, grant an employer a temporary extension to any time limitation provided in this section." *Idaho Code § 45-606(3)*
[^idaho-final-pay-nonhourly-minimum]: **Idaho Code § 45-606** — "Unless exempt from the minimum wage requirements of chapter 15, title 44, Idaho Code, employees who are not being paid on an hourly or salary basis must be paid at least the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked in the pay period immediately preceding layoff or termination from employment." *Idaho Code § 45-606(2)*
[^idaho-final-pay-additional-wages-payday]: **Idaho Code § 45-606** — "Any additional wages owed to employees shall be paid by the next regularly schedule payday." *Idaho Code § 45-606(2)*
[^idaho-late-final-pay-penalty]: **Idaho Code § 45-607** — "Whenever an employer fails to pay all wages then due an employee at the times due under section 45-606, Idaho Code, then the employee’s wages shall continue at the same rate as if services had been rendered in the manner as last employed until paid in full or for fifteen (15) days, whichever is less." *Idaho Code § 45-607*
[^idaho-late-pay-penalty-caps]: **Idaho Code § 45-607** — "However, in no event can the maximum penalty exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), and if the full amount of the wages are paid prior to the filing of a lien pursuant to section 45-620, Idaho Code, the maximum penalty shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500)." *Idaho Code § 45-607*
[^idaho-undisputed-wages-penalty-bar]: **Idaho Code § 45-611** — "Whenever an employer pays all wages not in dispute within the time limits set forth in section 45-606, Idaho Code, no penalties may be assessed under this chapter, unless it can be shown that the remaining balance of wages due were withheld willfully, arbitrarily and without just cause." *Idaho Code § 45-611(1)*
[^idaho-restrictive-endorsement-no-release]: **Idaho Code § 45-611** — "The acceptance by an employee of a check with any restrictive endorsement as payment under this section shall not constitute a release or accord and satisfaction with respect to the disputed amount." *Idaho Code § 45-611(2)*
[^idaho-penalty-lost-avoiding-payment]: **Idaho Code § 45-607** — "Any employee who secretes or absents himself to avoid payment, or refuses to receive payment when made available as provided for in section 45-606, Idaho Code, shall not be entitled to any penalty under this chapter." *Idaho Code § 45-607*
[^idaho-monthly-regular-payday]: **Idaho Code § 45-608** — "Employers shall pay all wages due to their employees at least once during each calendar month, on regular paydays designated in advance by the employer, in lawful money of the United States or with checks on banks where suitable arrangements are made for the cashing of such checks without charge to the employee." *Idaho Code § 45-608(1)*
[^idaho-pay-period-fifteen-day-lag]: **Idaho Code § 45-608** — "The end of the pay period for which payment is made on a regular payday shall be not more than fifteen (15) days before such regular payday; provided that if the regular payday falls on a nonworkday payment shall be made on a preceding workday." *Idaho Code § 45-608(2)*
[^idaho-director-pay-lag-permission]: **Idaho Code § 45-608** — "The director may, upon application showing good and sufficient reasons, permit an employer to withhold payment of wages more than the fifteen (15) day period as specified in subsection (2) of this section." *Idaho Code § 45-608(3)*
[^idaho-payday-penalty-per-period]: **Idaho Code § 45-608** — "The director may, pursuant to his authority, levy a civil penalty upon any employer who has failed to obtain the exemption provided in subsection (3) of this section and who has been determined to have undertaken a consistent pattern of untimely payment of wages to his employees. Such penalty shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for such employer per pay period." *Idaho Code § 45-608(4)*
[^idaho-wage-deduction-conditions]: **Idaho Code § 45-609** — "No employer may withhold or divert any portion of an employee’s wages unless: (a) The employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law; or (b) The employer has a written authorization from the employee for deductions for a lawful purpose." *Idaho Code § 45-609(1)(a)-(b)*
[^idaho-deduction-statement-required]: **Idaho Code § 45-609** — "An employer shall furnish each employee with a statement of deductions made from the employee’s wages for each pay period such deductions are made." *Idaho Code § 45-609(2)*
[^idaho-hiring-pay-rate-notice]: **Idaho Code § 45-610** — "Every employer shall give notice to its employees at the time of hiring of the rate of pay and the usual day of payment, and shall provide such information in writing to the employee upon the employee’s request." *Idaho Code § 45-610(2)*
[^idaho-wage-reduction-advance-notice]: **Idaho Code § 45-610** — "Every employer shall give notice to its employees of any reduction in wages prior to the work being performed and shall provide such information in writing to the employee upon the employee’s request." *Idaho Code § 45-610(3)*
[^idaho-deduction-statement-misdemeanor]: **Idaho Code § 45-609** — "The willful failure of any employer to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall constitute a misdemeanor." *Idaho Code § 45-609(2)*
[^idaho-hill-right-to-control-test]: ***State ex rel. Department of Labor & Industrial Services v. Hill*** — "The general test of an employee/employer relationship is the right to control work. If the employer retains the right to control and to direct the activities of the employee in the details of work performed, and to determine the hours to be spent and the times to start and stop the work, the person performing work will be deemed an employee." **State ex rel. Dep't of Labor & Indus. Servs. v. Hill*, 118 Idaho 278, 796 P.2d 155 (Ct. App. 1990).*
[^idaho-hill-actual-indicia-over-labels]: ***State ex rel. Department of Labor & Industrial Services v. Hill*** — "When determining whether there exists an employee/employer relationship for the purpose of Idaho's wage claim statute, we look not to the labels applied by the parties but rather to the actual indicia of such a relationship." **State ex rel. Dep't of Labor & Indus. Servs. v. Hill*, 118 Idaho 278, 796 P.2d 155 (Ct. App. 1990).*
[^idaho-wage-payment-employee-definition]: **Idaho Code § 45-601** — "‘Employee’ means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer." *Idaho Code § 45-601(4)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-employ-definition]: **Idaho Code § 44-1503** — "‘Employ’ includes to suffer or permit to work. ‘Employee’ includes any individual employed by an employer." *Idaho Code § 44-1503*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-employer-definition]: **Idaho Code § 44-1503** — "‘Employer’ includes any person employing an employee or acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee but shall not include the United States or any state or political subdivision of a state, or any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer) or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization." *Idaho Code § 44-1503*
[^idaho-employment-security-control-test]: **Idaho Code § 72-1316** — "Services performed by an individual for remuneration shall, for the purposes of the employment security law, be covered employment unless it is shown: (a) That the worker has been and will continue to be free from control or direction in the performance of his work, both under his contract of service and in fact; and (b) That the worker is engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business." *Idaho Code § 72-1316(4)(a)-(b)*
[^idaho-workers-comp-contractor-definition]: **Idaho Code § 72-102** — "‘Independent contractor’ means any person who renders service for a specified recompense for a specified result, under the right to control or actual control of his principal as to the result of his work only and not as to the means by which such result is accomplished." *Idaho Code § 72-102(16)*
[^idaho-tipped-direct-wage-floor]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "In determining the wage of a tipped employee, the amount of direct wages paid by an employer to the employee shall be deemed to be increased on account of tips actually received by the employee; provided however, the direct wages paid to the employee by the employer shall not be in an amount less than three dollars and thirty-five cents ($3.35) an hour." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(2)*
[^idaho-tipped-wage-make-up-duty]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "If the tips actually received by the employee combined with the direct wages paid by the employer do not at least equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(2)*
[^idaho-tipped-employee-definition]: **Idaho Code § 44-1503** — "‘Tipped employee’ means any employee engaged in an occupation in which he customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips." *Idaho Code § 44-1503*
[^idaho-tip-pool-share-excluded]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "Any portion of tips paid to an employee, which is shared with other employees under a tip pooling or similar arrangement, shall not be deemed, for the purpose of this section, to be tips actually received by the employee." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(2)*
[^idaho-tip-dispute-employer-burden]: **Idaho Code § 44-1502** — "In the event a dispute arises between the employee and the employer with respect to the amount of tips actually received by the employee, it shall be the employer’s burden to demonstrate the amount of tips actually received by the employee." *Idaho Code § 44-1502(2)*
[^idaho-wage-claim-court-alternative]: **Idaho Code § 45-615** — "As an alternative to filing a wage claim with the department, any person may assert a wage claim arising under this chapter in any court of competent jurisdiction or pursue any other remedy provided by law." *Idaho Code § 45-615(1)*
[^idaho-director-wage-hearings-orders]: **Idaho Code § 45-616** — "The director is empowered to hold hearings and otherwise investigate violations or alleged violations of this chapter and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, and to issue orders for administrative remedies as authorized." *Idaho Code § 45-616(1)*
[^idaho-department-claim-dollar-limit]: **Idaho Code § 45-617** — "Wage claims filed with the department, excluding potential penalties, are limited by the same dollar amount that limits actions before the small claims department of the magistrate division of the district court." *Idaho Code § 45-617(1)*
[^idaho-department-claim-exclusive-remedy]: **Idaho Code § 45-617** — "Once a wage claim has been properly filed with the department, the provisions of this section shall provide the exclusive remedy for resolving the wage claim." *Idaho Code § 45-617(3)*
[^idaho-department-penalty-willful-finding]: **Idaho Code § 45-617** — "No penalty shall be awarded by the department unless a specific finding is made that wages were withheld willfully, arbitrarily and without just cause." *Idaho Code § 45-617(4)*
[^idaho-wage-suit-fees-treble-damages]: **Idaho Code § 45-615** — "Any judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction for the plaintiff in a suit filed pursuant to this section may include all costs and attorney’s fees reasonably incurred in connection with the proceedings and the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover from the defendant either the unpaid wages plus the penalties provided for in section 45-607, Idaho Code; or damages in the amount of three (3) times the unpaid wages found due and owing, whichever is greater." *Idaho Code § 45-615(2)*
[^idaho-false-wage-claim-fee-liability]: **Idaho Code § 45-612** — "Any employee initiating a civil proceeding to collect unpaid wages or other compensation, which is based in whole or in part on a false claim which the employee knew to be false at the time the employee brought the action, shall be liable for attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the employer in defending against the false claim." *Idaho Code § 45-612(2)*
[^idaho-false-wage-claim-misdemeanor]: **Idaho Code § 45-612** — "Any person making a false claim for wages or other compensation under this chapter, knowing the same to be false, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by confinement in the county jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or by a fine, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both." *Idaho Code § 45-612(1)*
[^idaho-wage-claim-limitation-periods]: **Idaho Code § 45-614** — "Any person shall have the right to collect wages, penalties and liquidated damages provided by any law or pursuant to a contract of employment, but any action thereon shall be filed either with the department or commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction within two (2) years after the cause of action accrued, provided, however, that in the event salary or wages have been paid to any employee and such employee claims additional salary, wages, penalties or liquidated damages, because of work done or services performed during his employment for the pay period covered by said payment, any action therefor shall be commenced within twelve (12) months from the accrual of the cause of action." *Idaho Code § 45-614*
[^idaho-wage-claim-property-lien]: **Idaho Code § 45-620** — "When such notice is duly filed, all amounts due shall constitute a lien upon the entire interest, legal or equitable, in any property of such person, real or personal, tangible or intangible, not exempt from execution, situated in the state." *Idaho Code § 45-620(2)*
[^idaho-director-minimum-wage-injunction]: **Idaho Code § 44-1508** — "When the director of the department of labor has reason to believe that an employer is engaged in an act or practice which violates or will violate a provision of chapter 15, title 44, Idaho Code, he may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin the act or practice, and to enforce compliance with the provisions of chapter 15, title 44, Idaho Code." *Idaho Code § 44-1508(1)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-claim-chapter-six]: **Idaho Code § 44-1508** — "A claim for unpaid minimum wages as set forth in section 44-1502, Idaho Code, may be treated as a claim for wages due and owing under chapter 6, title 45, Idaho Code." *Idaho Code § 44-1508(2)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-claim-no-dollar-limit]: **Idaho Code § 44-1508** — "Such claim shall not be subject to the limitation contained in section 45-617(1), Idaho Code." *Idaho Code § 44-1508(2)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-action-two-years]: **Idaho Code § 44-1508** — "Any action for such wages must be commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction within two (2) years after the cause of action shall have accrued." *Idaho Code § 44-1508(2)*
[^idaho-wage-payment-retaliation-bar]: **Idaho Code § 45-613** — "No employer shall discharge or in any other manner retaliate against any employee because that employee has made a complaint to the employer, or to the department, or filed suit alleging that the employee has not been paid in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or because the employee has testified or may be about to testify in an investigation or hearing undertaken by the department." *Idaho Code § 45-613*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-retaliation-bar]: **Idaho Code § 44-1509** — "No employer shall discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee: (1) Because the employee has made complaint that he has not been paid wages in accordance with chapter 15, title 44, Idaho Code." *Idaho Code § 44-1509(1)*
[^idaho-employment-records-three-years]: **Idaho Code § 45-610** — "Employment records must be maintained for a minimum period of three (3) years from the last date of the employee’s service." *Idaho Code § 45-610(1)*
[^idaho-minimum-wage-summary-posting]: **Idaho Code § 44-1507** — "Every employer subject to this act shall keep a summary of this act, furnished by the director of the department of labor, without charge, posted in a conspicuous place, in or about the premises wherein any person subject to the act is employed, or in a place accessible to his employees." *Idaho Code § 44-1507*
[^idaho-untimely-wage-claim-barred]: **Idaho Code § 45-614** — "In the event an action is not commenced as herein provided, any remedy on the cause of action shall be forever barred." *Idaho Code § 45-614*
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