Under Pennsylvania’s state minimum wage law, the minimum wage is consistent with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. However, The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act does extend the requirements of minimum wage in the state in certain instances.
Until further notice, the standard minimum wage rate in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour. The minimum wage is applicable to most employees in the state, however, there are limited exceptions that apply to tipped employees, student workers, learners, and workers with disabilities.
It's been 15 years since the last minimum wage update in Pennsylvania, when the federal government finished its step-increase from $5.15 per hour in 2007, to $7.25 in 2009.
As of January 1, 2025, there has been no law passed to increase Pennsylvania minimum wage beyond the federal minimum wage.
| EFFECTIVE DATE | PENNSYLVANIA MINIMUM WAGE |
| 2025 (Current) | $7.25 (Still Current Federal Minimum Wage) |
| July 24, 2009 | $7.25 |
| July 24, 2008 | $6.55 |
| July 24, 2007 | $5.85 |
| September 1, 1997 | $5.15 |
Looking for minimum wage rates by state? Click here to view the minimum wage chart by state.
There are a few exceptions in which employers may pay their workers a special minimum wage.
Exceptions may apply to the following:
Pennsylvania state law allows businesses to only pay a minimum wage of $2.83 per hour to employees that also receive tips. However, tips received must at least equal the state minimum wage when added to the tipped wage.
Previously, to qualify for this exemption to the state minimum wage, workers in Pennsylvania must also earn at least $30 per month in tips. Updated on August 5th, 2022, employees now have to earn at least $135 per month in tips to qualify. In addition, workers must also satisfy the 80/20 rule to receive a tipped wage. This rule states that the employee must spend no more than 20% of the 7-day previously established workweek performing duties that do not directly generate tips.
Other requirements of tipped wages regarding credit card deductions, service charges, and tip pooling can be found here.
Pennsylvania state law allows employers to claim a minimum wage exemption for working students, whether the school is in session or not. However, once a student worker has received a degree, certificate, or diploma from their place of learning, they are no longer considered a student.
This special wage rate cannot be less than 85% of the Pennsylvania minimum wage, which currently equals $6.16 per hour.
In order to pay this special wage rate, employers must also:
Pennsylvania state law allows employers to pay learners a special wage rate that cannot be less than 85% of the Pennsylvania minimum wage, which currently equals $6.16 per hour.
A learner is defined as an individual who is under the age of 20 and is participating in a training program for the occupations for which they were hired. Pennsylvania employers must also obtain a special certificate to be authorized to use a subminimum wage for learners.
The training periods for learners must be at least two weeks long and cannot exceed eight weeks unless the PDLI authorizes an exception. Once a worker has completed the training program, they'll no longer be considered as a learner and will no longer qualify for the Pennsylvania minimum wage exception. Additionally, regardless of the training period timeline, businesses in Pennsylvania may only pay subminimum wages to their learner-employees during the first 60 calendar days of employment.
Businesses in Pennsylvania may be able to pay a subminimum wage to workers with disabilities if the worker's "capacity for the work to be performed is impaired by physical or mental deficiency or injury".
The special minimum wage will be determined based on the productivity of the individual which is in proportion to the wages paid to employees without disabilities performing essentially the same work.
Businesses must obtain a special certificate from the PDLI or under the FLSA from the U.S. Department of Labor in order to be authorized with the subminimum wage of workers with disabilities.
The state of Pennsylvania recognizes the federal overtime regulations set forth by the FLSA. If an employee works more than 40 hours in an average seven-day workweek, the employee is to receive an overtime rate of 1.5 times the employee's regular hourly rate.
The following types of workers are exempt from minimum wage requirements in the state of Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania does not require employers to give specific meal or rest breaks to adult employees, however, employers that choose to offer such breaks must adhere to the specific guidelines set forth by the FLSA, regarding payment and length.
Businesses must post a summary of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act in an easily accessible and visible place. This can easily be managed through an all-in-one Pennsylvania Labor Law Poster to cover all the required state and federal labor law postings.
Note that each time the minimum wage is updated, the labor law poster must be replaced in the workplace. A labor law poster subscription service will automatically provide updated mandatory notices that need to be posted for employees as additional changes take place with state or local laws.
In addition, to being prohibited from taking adverse action against an employee for cooperating in a PDLI wage investigation, businesses may incur the following penalties for non-compliance:
Businesses struggling to maintain minimum wage compliance or manage payroll may want to consider outsourcing payroll to a local payroll services company. Areas for additional knowledge and learning include the basics of payroll and what to know about modern payroll software.
To learn more about how Employer Pass is helping countless businesses maintain minimum wage compliance, contact us today or use the find a provider tool.
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