2020 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2020 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.63.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.63 | $2.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped employees in Arkansas and their employers
What changed this year, and why
Arkansas set the minimum cash wage for tipped employees at $2.63 per hour for 2020.
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum wage in Arkansas in 2020?
- In 2020, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Arkansas was $2.63 per hour. Employers must ensure that tips bring the employee's total earnings up to at least the applicable minimum wage. If tips are not enough, the employer must make up the difference.
- Who is responsible for tracking tips?
- The employer is responsible for keeping accurate tip records.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Arkansas, when your employer pays you the tipped minimum cash wage of $2.63 per hour, they are using a tip credit. The tip credit is the difference between that direct wage and the full minimum wage you are owed. Your employer counts your tips toward meeting their minimum wage obligation, but you must still receive at least $2.63 per hour in direct cash from your employer. This arrangement only works if your tips bring your total hourly earnings up to the applicable minimum wage. Arkansas law requires that your employer keep accurate records of your tips to verify you are receiving adequate total compensation each pay period. The tip credit allows employers to pay tipped workers a lower base wage, but it does not reduce your right to earn the full minimum wage when your cash wage and tips are combined.
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 do not bring your total hourly earnings up to the applicable minimum wage, your employer must add enough to your pay to make up the difference. Even though your employer can pay you a cash wage of $2.63 per hour as a tipped employee, you are still entitled to receive at least the full minimum wage for each hour you work when your direct wages and tips are combined. This is the employer's responsibility, not yours. Arkansas requires employers to keep accurate records of the tips you report so they can calculate whether you received adequate total compensation each pay period. If your tips fall short in any work period, your employer must increase your paycheck to close the gap. This protection ensures that tipped workers in Arkansas do not lose money because of slow business or low tip income.
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
Arkansas employers must give tipped employees specific information before they can use a tip credit to pay less than the full minimum wage. The employer must inform you of the cash wage they will pay you, which in Arkansas is $2.63 per hour. They must also tell you about the tip credit they are taking, explain that the tip credit cannot exceed the actual tips you receive, and confirm that you will keep all your tips except when a valid tip pool is in place. The employer must provide this notice before taking the tip credit, not after. This requirement ensures you understand how your pay is calculated and what your rights are as a tipped worker in Arkansas. Without proper notice, the employer may not be allowed to use the tip credit arrangement and could owe you the full minimum wage.
It is the employer’s responsibility to keep accurate tip records.
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. The tips you earn belong to you, not to the business or its management. While employers can pay you a cash wage of $2.63 per hour as a tipped employee and count your tips toward meeting the minimum wage requirement, they cannot take a share of those tips for themselves. This rule applies to all tipped workers in Arkansas. Your tips are your compensation for the service you provide, and management cannot redirect that money to the business or to themselves. The only exception is when tips are included in a valid tip pool with other non-management employees who also customarily receive tips. Arkansas law protects your right to keep your tips free from employer or supervisor interference.
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 pools are limited to employees in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means your employer can only require you to share your tips with other workers who also typically earn tips as part of their job, such as servers, bartenders, bussers, and hosts. Non-tipped employees like cooks, dishwashers, or janitorial staff cannot be included in a mandatory tip pool. Additionally, your employer, managers, and supervisors cannot participate in or keep any portion of the pooled tips. The tip pool must only include employees who regularly receive tips from customers. This restriction ensures that tip pooling arrangements in Arkansas benefit workers who depend on tip income, rather than being used to redistribute tips to non-tipped staff or management. All participants in the pool must be employees who customarily receive tips in the course of their work.
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)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Arkansas, if you work two jobs for the same employer and only one of those jobs typically receives tips, you are considered a tipped employee only with respect to your employment in the tipped position. This means your employer can pay you the lower cash wage of $2.63 per hour only for the hours you work in the tipped job. For the hours you work in the non-tipped job, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage. You cannot be required to share tips earned in your tipped position with cover the hours you work in your non-tipped position. This rule prevents employers from using a tip credit arrangement to pay below minimum wage for work that does not generate tip income. In Arkansas, the tipped minimum wage applies only to the specific job where you regularly receive tips, not to all the work you do for that employer.
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)
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