2017 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2017 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.63.
Effective 2017-01-01Source: Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2016
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2016.
| Item | 2016 | 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.63 | $2.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Arkansas employers paying tipped employees
What changed this year, and why
Arkansas tipped minimum wage rate for 2017
Common questions
- How does the tipped minimum wage work in Arkansas?
- Employers must pay tipped employees a cash wage of at least $2.63 per hour. The tips earned must bring the employee up to at least the applicable minimum wage per hour. If tips are not enough, the employer must make up the difference.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Arkansas, a tipped employee is a worker to whom the state's lower cash wage rate applies. Under Arkansas law, such employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour in direct wages from their employer, provided their tips bring their total hourly compensation up to the applicable minimum wage. If their tips are not sufficient to reach that minimum, the employer is required to make up the difference. This makes the employer responsible for tracking tip earnings accurately. Workers in Arkansas who do not regularly receive tips, or whose tips are too small to bring them to minimum wage along with the reduced cash rate, are not considered tipped employees for this purpose and must receive the full minimum wage directly. The $2.63 cash wage applies specifically to employees whose occupation involves tip income, such as servers, bartenders, and similar roles.
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour. The tips they earn must be enough to bring them up to the applicable minimum wage per hour.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Arkansas, employers can pay tipped employees a direct cash wage of $2.63 per hour, which is lower than the standard minimum wage. This works because the employer takes a tip credit—they count your tips toward meeting their minimum wage obligation. The tip credit is the difference between the cash wage you receive and the full minimum wage. However, your employer must still pay you at least $2.63 per hour in direct wages, and your total earnings (cash wage plus tips) must reach at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. This system allows Arkansas employers to factor in the tips you receive while maintaining a baseline cash wage that you receive directly from them. If your combined earnings fall short, your employer must make up the difference to ensure you earn at least the minimum wage.
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Arkansas, if your tips combined with your cash wage don't reach the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. This is a critical protection for tipped workers in the state. Even though your employer pays you only $2.63 per hour in direct wages, they are legally obligated to ensure your total earnings meet at least the minimum wage for all hours you work. If business is slow and your tips fall short, or if you work during periods when tipping is lighter, your employer cannot pass that shortfall on to you. They must calculate your total compensation each pay period and add enough money to bring you up to the minimum wage threshold. This requirement ensures that the tip credit system doesn't result in you earning less than the legal minimum, regardless of how much you actually receive in tips during any given period. Arkansas employers must monitor this carefully and adjust your pay accordingly.
If the tips do not bring them up to minimum wage, the employer must add enough to their pay to do so.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In Arkansas, before your employer can take a tip credit and pay you the reduced cash wage of $2.63 per hour, they must provide you with specific information about how the tip credit works. This notice requirement ensures you understand your rights and wage calculations. The employer must inform you about the tip credit they intend to take, explain how it affects your wages, and make clear that all tips you receive are yours to keep except for valid tip pooling arrangements. Without this advance notice, the employer cannot legally pay you less than the full minimum wage. This requirement protects Arkansas workers by ensuring transparency about wage calculations. Your employer cannot simply start paying you the lower tipped wage without first explaining the arrangement and your entitlements. If they fail to provide this information before taking the tip credit, they may be required to pay you the full minimum wage regardless of your tip earnings.
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour. The tips they earn must be enough to bring them up to the applicable minimum wage per hour. If the tips do not bring them up to minimum wage, the employer must add enough to their pay to do so. It is the employer’s responsibility to keep accurate tip records.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
In Arkansas, when both federal and state wage laws apply, employers must follow whichever standard is most protective to employees. This means if state law provides better protections than federal law for tipped workers, the employer must comply with the state requirements. For example, if Arkansas sets a higher minimum cash wage or provides stronger tip protections than federal rules, those Arkansas standards apply. This principle ensures that Arkansas workers receive the maximum protection available under either law. Employers cannot cherry-pick the more favorable provisions from each system—they must apply the rules that benefit you most. This matters because it prevents employers from using weaker federal standards to reduce your wages when Arkansas law would give you more. The most protective standard becomes the governing rule for your employment situation in Arkansas.
An employer covered by both laws must pay the highest minimum wage.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In Arkansas, your employer, your manager, and your supervisor are prohibited from keeping any portion of your tips. All tips you receive belong to you, not to the business or its management. This rule prevents employers from taking a cut of your gratuities or using them to subsidize other business expenses. Even if your employer pays you the full minimum wage rather than taking a tip credit, they still cannot keep your tips. The only exception is when you participate in a valid tip pooling arrangement with other employees who customarily receive tips. But managers and supervisors cannot participate in tip pools or take any share of the tips you earn. This protection ensures that the gratuities customers intend for you actually reach you, not the business owners or management staff in Arkansas.
It is the employer’s responsibility to keep accurate tip records.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Arkansas, tip pooling arrangements are limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means you can only be required to share your tips with other workers who typically earn tips as part of their job, such as other servers, bartenders, or bussers. You cannot be forced to pool tips with cooks, dishwashers, or other back-of-house staff who don't normally receive tips from customers. The tip pool must be restricted to front-of-house employees who customarily receive gratuities. This rule ensures that tip pooling serves its intended purpose of distributing tips among workers who depend on them, rather than spreading them to employees who earn standard wages. Arkansas employers must structure any mandatory tip pool to include only those employees who regularly receive tips as part of their occupation.
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Arkansas, if you work two different jobs for the same employer—one where you receive tips and one where you don't—you are considered a tipped employee only with respect to the job where you customarily receive tips. For example, if you work as a server (receiving tips) and also work as a cook (not receiving tips) for the same employer, your employer can only pay you the lower tipped wage of $2.63 per hour for your server hours. For your cook hours, they must pay you the full minimum wage. The employer cannot average your tips across both jobs or apply the tip credit to hours when you weren't in a tipped position. Each job must be evaluated separately based on whether you customarily and regularly receive tips in that specific role. This prevents Arkansas employers from using your tip earnings in one position to reduce your wages in another position where tips aren't customary.
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour.
Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
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 and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
- Minimum cash wage
Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.63 per hour.
Other years
Every Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state