2020 Pennsylvania Minimum Wage
The 2020 Pennsylvania Minimum Wage is $7.25.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.25 | $7.25 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees subject to Pennsylvania's Minimum Wage Act
What changed this year, and why
Pennsylvania's minimum wage rate for 2020
Common questions
- What is the minimum wage in Pennsylvania for 2020?
- The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour for 2020.
When a city or county sets a higher minimum wage
The $7.25 on this page is Pennsylvania's statewide rate, set by the state's Minimum Wage Act and the same in every county. A Pennsylvania city can carry requirements of its own on top of it. The Department of Labor & Industry says that additional requirements may apply to certain persons within the City of Philadelphia, and it sends workers to the City of Philadelphia's own government website rather than answering for those requirements itself. So a worker in Philadelphia should read the city's page as well as this one: the state rate is the floor, and the city is where anything above or beyond it would be written.
There may be additional requirements for certain persons within the City of Philadelphia. You can find information on the City of Philadelphia city government website.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate
The rate on this page is what an hour of work is worth in Pennsylvania up to 40 hours; past that the arithmetic changes. Most employees in Pennsylvania must be paid overtime compensation for any hours they work over 40 straight time hours per week, and that compensation is 1-1/2 times the employee's straight time rate of pay. The premium is built on what the employee actually earns, so a Pennsylvania worker paid the $7.25 minimum wage is owed more than $7.25 for each of those hours rather than the same. Other employees are overtime exempt because they fall into one or more exemptions, and whether an exemption applies turns on the work actually done and how the employee is paid, not on the job title.
Most employees in Pennsylvania must be paid overtime compensation for any hours they work over 40 straight time hours per week. Overtime compensation is 1-1/2 times the employee's straight time rate of pay. Other employees may be overtime exempt because they may fall into one or more other exemptions.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
Workers in Pennsylvania who have questions about wage rates or need to file a complaint should contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The department handles wage and hour issues, including minimum wage and overtime questions. Employees can reach out to the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance for assistance with wage disputes or to report violations of Pennsylvania wage laws. The department provides guidance on workers' rights and employer obligations under state law.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry does not enforce city ordinances. You must contact the City of Philadelphia.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
State minimum wage laws that give more than the federal rate
A worker in Pennsylvania is covered by the state's Minimum Wage Act and by federal wage law at the same time, and the Department of Labor & Industry states the rule for that overlap: federal law may differ from state law, and the more restrictive of the two will apply. More restrictive means the one that leaves the employee better off, so where a state rate stands above the federal one the state rate is what an employer has to pay, and where it does not the federal rate is. Pennsylvania's rate is $7.25 per hour. The department sends questions about federal law itself to the United States Department of Labor, and it notes that many issues may also be specifically addressed by collective bargaining agreements and private contracts.
FEDERAL LAW MAY DIFFER FROM STATE LAW. THE MORE RESTRICTIVE OF THE TWO WILL APPLY. CONTACT THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL LAW. MANY ISSUES MAY ALSO BE SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED BY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS AND PRIVATE CONTRACTS.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
What an employer may deduct from your pay
A Pennsylvania employer may deduct from an employee's paycheck for things like tax withholding, loan repayments, or other authorized items. For a non-tax deduction the employee must give written authorization, and it is not valid to sign a blanket authorization at the time of hire to cover future deductions. As a rule, a deduction cannot reduce an employee's gross pay below the Pennsylvania minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and the deduction must be for the employee's benefit. That is what protects a worker in Pennsylvania from having pay pushed under the legal minimum by unauthorized or excessive deductions.
What Can Be Deducted From My Paycheck? If you have borrowed money from a third party, you can give the employer written permission to deduct payments from your earnings. If your employer has loaned you funds, it can deduct the amount from your earnings as long as you have given written authorization. Of course, normal tax deductions must be made. You must give written authorization to your employer to make such non-tax related deductions. It is not valid to sign a "blanket" authorization at the time of hire to cover any future deductions. Further, as a rule, deductions cannot reduce your gross pay below minimum wage, and the deductions must be for the employee's benefit.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Wage FAQs (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
- Hourly
What is the Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania? The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour.
Other years
Every Pennsylvania Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state