50-State Law Survey
Wage & Hour Laws by State
A side-by-side comparison by state of the wage-and-hour rules that go beyond the federal baseline — the minimum wage relative to the federal floor, daily overtime, meal and rest breaks, final-pay timing and penalties, pay frequency, wage-statement contents, the employee-vs-contractor test, and tip credit. Each row links to the full practice guide for that jurisdiction. This is legal research, not legal advice.
| Jurisdiction | Minimum wage vs. the federal floor | Summary | Main law | Last reviewed | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Indexed (rises yearly) | California is a high-protection wage-and-hour state — an indexed minimum wage well above the federal floor, daily overtime, mandatory paid breaks, and immediate final pay backed by a waiting-time penalty. | Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201–204, 226, 226.7, 351, 510, 512, 1182.12, 1194, 2775 | ||
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| Florida | Indexed (rises yearly) | Florida sets a single voter-enacted minimum wage indexed above the federal floor — $14.00 an hour, rising to $15.00 on September 30, 2026 — but adds almost no other state wage-and-hour rules: overtime, breaks, final-pay timing, pay frequency, and wage statements are all left to federal law, and a worker must send a 15-day pre-suit notice before suing for unpaid minimum wages. | Fla. Const. art. X, § 24; Fla. Stat. §§ 110.113, 218.077, 448.01, 448.08, 448.110, 450.081 | ||
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| Illinois | Above federal | Illinois is a high-regulation wage state: the minimum wage reached $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2025, overtime follows the federal 40-hour week with no daily-overtime tier, the One Day Rest in Seven Act mandates a 20-minute meal period and a weekly day of rest, and the Wage Payment and Collection Act layers on at-least-semi-monthly paydays, itemized pay stubs, next-payday final pay, and compounding 5%-a-month penalties backed by a private right of action. | 820 ILCS 105 (Minimum Wage Law); 820 ILCS 115 (Wage Payment and Collection Act); 820 ILCS 140 (One Day Rest in Seven Act); 820 ILCS 185 (Employee Classification Act) | ||
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| Massachusetts | Above federal | Massachusetts is one of the most employee-protective wage-and-hour states: the minimum wage is a fixed $15.00 an hour with a statutory floor that can never fall below $.50 above the federal rate, overtime is owed weekly after 40 hours, a 30-minute meal interval is required after six hours, final pay is due on the day of discharge, independent-contractor status is judged by a strict three-part ABC test, and unpaid or late wages carry mandatory treble damages plus attorney's fees under the Wage Act. | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151, §§ 1, 1A, 1B, 7, 20; ch. 149, §§ 100, 148, 148B, 150, 152A | ||
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| New York | Above federal | New York is a high-protection wage-and-hour state — a minimum wage well above the federal floor and tiered by region, weekly pay for manual workers, detailed WTPA wage statements, and 100% liquidated-damages exposure — with worker status decided by the common-law control test. | N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 162, 191, 193, 195, 196-d, 198, 652, 663; Matter of Vega (Postmates Inc.), 35 N.Y.3d 131 (2020) | ||
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| Pennsylvania | Same as federal | Pennsylvania keeps its minimum wage pinned to the federal $7.25 floor and adds no daily-overtime or adult-break mandate, but its Wage Payment and Collection Law is unusually employee-friendly on the back end: final wages are due the next regular payday, and wages left unpaid for 30 days can trigger a 25%-or-$500 liquidated-damages remedy when no good-faith dispute accounts for the nonpayment, plus mandatory attorney's fees. | 43 P.S. §§ 333.104, 333.113 (Minimum Wage Act); 43 P.S. §§ 260.3, 260.5, 260.10 (Wage Payment and Collection Law); 34 Pa. Code §§ 231.41, 231.101a | ||
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| Texas | Same as federal | Texas is a low-regulation, federal-floor wage-and-hour state — it adopts the $7.25 federal minimum wage, imposes no state overtime or break mandate, fixes final-pay deadlines by statute, and decides worker status by the common-law right-of-control test. | Tex. Lab. Code §§ 61.011, 61.014, 61.019, 62.003, 62.051, 62.052; Limestone Products Distribution, Inc. v. McNamara, 71 S.W.3d 308 (Tex. 2002) | ||
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