2016 West Virginia Minimum Wage
The 2016 West Virginia Minimum Wage is $8.75.
Effective 2016-01-01Source: Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)Verified 2026-09-01
Who it applies to
Employers in West Virginia with at least six non-exempt employees at any one separate, distinct, and permanent work location.
What changed this year, and why
West Virginia's state minimum wage is $8.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2016.
Common questions
- What is the minimum wage in West Virginia for 2016?
- As of January 1, 2016, the state minimum wage is $8.75 per hour.
- Who must pay the West Virginia minimum wage?
- An employer must have at least six non-exempt employees at a single, separate, and permanent work location for the state minimum wage to apply.
Minors, students and training wages: who may be paid less than the rate on this page
West Virginia allows certain young workers to be paid less than the $8.75 per hour state minimum wage through a training wage provision. A training wage is an established hourly rate below the standard minimum wage that applies specifically to workers who are twenty years of age or younger during their first 90 days of employment. However, West Virginia defers jurisdiction over training wages to the United States Department of Labor whenever federal standards are equal to or greater than state requirements. Since federal training wage rules currently meet that standard, the U.S. Department of Labor has jurisdiction over training wages in West Virginia. This means that employers in West Virginia who want to pay a subminimum wage to young workers must follow federal rules rather than state rules for this category of worker. Workers and employers with questions about training wage eligibility should contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division for guidance on whether a particular worker qualifies for this exception to the standard minimum wage.
A training wage is an established hourly wage that is less than the standard minimum wage, which applies to workers that are twenty years of age or younger during their first 90 days of employment. West Virginia’s minimum wage standards specifically defer jurisdiction relating to training wages to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) whenever the federal standards are equal to, or great than, the requirements of state law.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate
West Virginia's maximum hour standards require employers to pay overtime at a rate of one and a half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours actually worked over forty within a seven consecutive day workweek. This premium applies only when three conditions are met: the employer must not be covered by federal overtime laws due to interstate commerce or federal enterprise coverage; less than 80% of the workforce can perform duties considered interstate commerce under federal law; and the employer must have at least six non-exempt employees at one separate, distinct, and permanent work location. For workers earning the state minimum wage of $8.75 per hour, this means overtime hours are paid at one and a half times that base rate.
When do overtime wages apply? West Virginia's maximum hour standards require the payment of overtime wages at a rate of one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours actually worked over forty, within a seven consecutive day workweek, as long as all of the following conditions are also met. 1.) The employer is not covered by federal overtime laws due to interstate commerce activity or federal enterprise coverage. 2.) Less than 80% of the employer’s work force are performing duties that would be considered interstate commerce activity under federal law. 3.) The employer has at least six or more non-exempt employees working at any one separate, distinct and permanent work location.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
When questions arise about minimum wage rates or wage complaints in West Virginia, workers should contact the United States Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division. This federal agency handles inquiries about federal minimum wage jurisdiction, training wages, and tip credits when state requirements are not met. The contact information for the Wage & Hour Division is available at www.dol.gov. West Virginia's state minimum wage requirements apply when employers have at least six non-exempt employees at one work location, but when that threshold is not met or when specific provisions like training wages apply, the U.S. Department of Labor has jurisdiction. Workers in West Virginia who believe they are not being paid the correct minimum wage should reach out to this agency for guidance and to file complaints if necessary. The Wage & Hour Division enforces both federal and, in some cases, state wage protections.
For information concerning federal minimum wage jurisdiction, contact the United States Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
State minimum wage laws that give more than the federal rate
In West Virginia, the state minimum wage of $8.75 per hour is currently higher than the federal minimum wage. When both state and federal minimum wage laws apply, the rule is that the higher rate benefits the worker. For most employers in West Virginia—those with at least six non-exempt employees at one work location—the state rate of $8.75 per hour applies because it exceeds the federal floor. However, if an employer does not meet the six-employee threshold at a single work location, state minimum wage requirements do not apply, and the federal minimum wage may still apply instead. Workers in West Virginia should understand that the higher of the two rates governs their pay, and when the state rate is greater, employers must pay at least $8.75 per hour to covered employees.
As the state minimum wage requirement is currently higher than the federal, the state minimum wage will apply in all cases where there are at least six non-exempt employees working at one location.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
When tips, meals or lodging count toward the minimum wage
West Virginia allows employers to take a credit against the minimum wage for tipped employees. Employers may apply a 70% credit, which means they can pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.62 per hour, as long as the employee's hourly cash rate plus reported tips equals at least $8.75 per hour. The employer must have written tip records completed by the employee to claim this credit. If written tip records were not provided, the employer must pay the full minimum wage of $8.75 per hour. These provisions recognize that tips received by service employees are part of their compensation, but employers must properly document tip amounts before applying the credit. Workers in West Virginia who receive tips should understand that their employer can pay a lower cash wage, but the combination of that cash wage and their tips must reach at least $8.75 per hour, and proper records must be maintained to verify tip income.
West Virginia’s minimum wage standards allow employers a 70% credit against the minimum wage requirement for their service employees that receive tips. That means an employer may pay his or her tipped employees a cash wage of $2.62 per hour, as long as the employee’s hourly cash rate, plus reported tips, equal $8.75 per hour.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
What an employer may deduct from your pay
West Virginia allows employers to deduct meal credits from employee wages under specific conditions. When an employer makes meals available to an employee and the employee works a full eight hours, the employer may deduct $4.00 per day as a meal credit from the employee's wages without obtaining written authorization. If the employee works less than eight hours but still eats a meal, the employer may deduct $.50 per hour as a meal credit. However, if the employee does not eat the meal provided, the employer may not take a meal credit deduction. These deductions are permitted even though they reduce the employee's cash wages, as long as the employer follows these specific rules about when meals are actually consumed. This provision recognizes that when employers provide meals as part of compensation, the value of those meals can count toward meeting minimum wage requirements, but only when employees actually receive and eat the meals provided.
When an employer makes meals available to an employee and the employee works a full eight hours, the employer may deduct $4.00 per day as a meal credit from the employee’s wages without obtaining written authorization. If the employee works less than eight hours but still eats a meal, the employer may deduct $.50 per hour as a meal credit. However, if the employee does not eat the meal provided, the employer may not take a meal credit deduction.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
Why the federal rate applies when the state rate is lower
In West Virginia, the state minimum wage applies only when an employer has at least six non-exempt employees working at one separate, distinct and permanent work location. If an employer does not meet this six-employee threshold, state minimum wage requirements do not apply, and the federal minimum wage may still apply instead. This means that some workers in West Virginia may be covered by federal minimum wage law rather than state law, depending on their employer's size and work location structure. The six-employee requirement must be met at each work location, so it is possible for some employees of the same employer to be covered by state requirements while others at different locations are not. When state coverage does not apply, workers in West Virginia should contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division to determine their rights under federal minimum wage law.
If that requirement is not met, the federal minimum wage may apply.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
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.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)
- Hourly
As of January 1, 2016, the state minimum wage is $8.75 per hour.
Other years
Every West Virginia Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state