2021 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 Arkansas Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.63.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Minimum Wage and Overtime (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.63 | $2.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped employees covered by the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act
What changed this year, and why
For 2021, the minimum cash wage that Arkansas employers must pay tipped employees is $2.63 per hour.
Common questions
- What if a tipped employee's tips do not bring their total pay up to the minimum wage?
- The employer must make up the difference so the employee earns at least the full minimum wage.
- Who is responsible for keeping tip records?
- It is the employer's responsibility to keep accurate records of the tips employees receive.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Arkansas law requires that tipped employees receive at least $2.63 per hour in direct cash wages from their employer. Your employer can count your tips toward the minimum wage it owes you, but only if your tips plus that $2.63 cash wage reach at least the full minimum wage for each hour you work. If your tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference - you are guaranteed the full minimum wage regardless of how much you earn in tips. Your employer also has a duty to keep accurate records of the tips you report so it can verify it is meeting this obligation.
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 the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Arkansas law says your employer must keep accurate tip records. Your employer can pay you as little as $2.63 per hour in direct cash, counting on your tips to bring you up to the full minimum wage. But if in any hour your tips plus the $2.63 cash wage do not reach the applicable minimum wage, the employer must add enough to close the gap. That is the employer's responsibility, not yours, and the record-keeping duty ensures there is a check on whether the employer is actually making you whole each pay period.
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)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In Arkansas, you must receive at least $2.63 per hour in direct wages from your employer if you are a tipped employee. Your employer expects your tips to bring your total earnings up to the full minimum wage. If your tips plus the $2.63 cash wage do not reach the applicable minimum wage for any hour you work, your employer must add enough to close the gap. Your employer also has a legal duty to keep accurate records of the tips you report so it can verify it is meeting this obligation and paying you what you are owed under Arkansas law.
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
Arkansas law requires that when both state and federal minimum wage rules apply, your employer must follow whichever standard gives you the greater protection. For tipped workers, this means comparing the Arkansas tipped minimum wage rules with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules. Whichever law results in higher pay or better conditions for you is the one your employer must follow. In Arkansas for 2021, the state minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.63 per hour. If the federal rules ever required a higher cash wage or better tip protections, your employer would have to comply with those instead. The principle is simple: you get the benefit of the most favorable rule.
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
Your tips belong to you, not your employer. Under Arkansas law, your employer must pay you at least $2.63 per hour in direct wages and can count your tips toward meeting the minimum wage obligation. However, your employer cannot take any portion of your tips for itself. The tips you receive are yours to keep, and they must be enough to bring your total hourly earnings up to the applicable minimum wage. If your tips fall short, your employer must make up the difference - but the employer cannot keep any of your tips or require you to turn them over.
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)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Arkansas, if you work as a tipped employee, your employer can require you to participate in a tip pool with other tipped employees. However, your employer and supervisors cannot keep any portion of your tips. The tips must be shared only among employees who customarily receive tips, such as servers, bartenders, and bussers. Your employer must pay you at least $2.63 per hour in direct wages, and your tips - whether kept individually or shared through a pool - must bring your total earnings up to the applicable minimum wage. If they do not, your employer owes you the difference.
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 do not - you are only considered a tipped employee for the job where you regularly receive tips. For the non-tipped job, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage directly, not the lower $2.63 cash wage. Your employer cannot average your tips from one job to subsidize your pay in the other job. Each job has its own wage requirements under Arkansas law, and you are entitled to at least $2.63 per hour plus tips for the tipped position and the full applicable minimum wage for the non-tipped position.
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