2019 Georgia Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2019 Georgia Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2019-01-01Source: Individuals FAQs - Fair Labor Standards Act (Georgia Department of Labor)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2018
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2018.
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 | $2.13 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Georgia subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act
What changed this year, and why
For 2019, the federal tipped minimum cash wage that employers in Georgia must pay tipped employees remains $2.13 per hour.
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Georgia for 2019?
- Employers must pay tipped employees at least $2.13 per hour in direct wages, provided that amount plus tips equals at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked. If the combined total falls short, the employer must make up the difference.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Georgia, a worker counts as a tipped employee under federal law only if the job they hold is one where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. The threshold is measured by occupation, not by the worker's total earnings: if someone works as a server, bartender, or bellhop and tips in that role routinely exceed $30 in a typical month, the employer may classify that worker as tipped and potentially use the federal tip credit. Occasional or irregular gratuities do not qualify; the tips must be a regular feature of the occupation. This classification matters because it determines whether the employer is allowed to pay the lower cash wage of $2.13 per hour and count the employee's tips toward the full minimum wage. If a Georgia worker's role does not meet this $30-a-month standard, the employer must pay the full minimum wage without relying on a tip credit, regardless of how much the worker actually receives in tips during any given pay period.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
For a tipped worker in Georgia, the tip credit is the amount an employer can count toward the minimum wage from the tips the employee receives, rather than paying it all in direct wages. The employer must still pay a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour out of its own funds. The tip credit then covers the gap between that cash wage and the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In practice, this means the employer is not required to pay the full minimum wage from its own pocket as long as the employee's tips make up the shortfall. Only tips the employee actually receives count toward satisfying the tip credit; projected or uncollected tips cannot be included.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Georgia, the employer is responsible for making sure a tipped employee earns at least the full federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in every single workweek, counting both the cash wages the employer pays and the tips the employee receives. If a slow week, a bad shift, or any other reason means the combined total falls short of $7.25 per hour, the employer must pay the difference out of its own funds. The employee cannot be left with less than the minimum wage for that workweek, even if customer traffic was low. This guarantee applies week by week, so a strong week does not offset a weak one; each workweek is measured on its own.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before a Georgia employer can claim a tip credit, it must give the tipped employee clear information about the arrangement. The notice must state the cash wage the employer is paying (at least $2.13 per hour), the amount claimed as a tip credit (up to $5.12), the fact that the credit cannot exceed the tips the employee actually receives, the employee's right to keep all tips except for a lawful tip pool among customarily tipped workers, and that the credit does not apply unless the employee has been told all of this. The employer may deliver this notice orally or in writing. If the employer fails to provide all of this information before taking the credit, it loses the right to claim the tip credit altogether and must pay the full minimum wage.
Notice to Tipped Employees: Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA: the amount of the direct (or cash) wage the employer is paying a tipped employee, which must be at least $2.13 per hour; the additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $5.12 (the difference between the minimum required direct (or cash) wage of $2.13 and the current minimum wage of $7.25); that the tip credit claimed by the employer cannot exceed the amount of tips actually received by the tipped employee; that all tips received by the tipped employee are to be retained by the employee except for a valid tip pooling arrangement limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips; and that the tip credit will not apply to any tipped employee unless the employee has been informed of these tip credit provisions.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When a Georgia state law provides a better benefit to a tipped worker than the federal rule does, the employer must follow whichever standard is more protective of the employee. For example, if Georgia required a higher cash wage than the federal $2.13 per hour or restricted the use of a tip credit, the employer would have to meet that higher state standard. The federal rule acts as a floor, not a ceiling, in states that choose to go further. Georgia workers should look to whichever law — federal or state — puts more money in their pocket or gives them stronger protections, because the employer is required to comply with the most favorable rule.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In Georgia, the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This means your employer cannot require you to hand over your tips to the business, to a supervisor, or to a manager. This protection applies even if your employer pays you the full federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and does not take a tip credit at all. The rule recognizes that tips belong to the worker who received them from customers, not to the business or its management. Even though Georgia allows employers to pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour to tipped employees by taking a tip credit, that lower cash wage comes with the condition that the employer must leave the employee's tips with the employee. Managers and supervisors cannot participate in any arrangement that would let them share in or retain tips earned by workers they oversee.
the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Georgia, when an employer takes a federal tip credit — paying the tipped worker the cash wage of $2.13 per hour and counting tips toward the minimum wage — the employer may require the worker to contribute tips only to a tip pool that is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means the pool can include workers such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders, but cannot include back-of-house staff who do not ordinarily receive tips from customers, such as cooks or dishwashers. A Georgia employer who runs a traditional tip pool must also notify tipped employees of the required contribution amount and may take a tip credit only for the tips each worker ultimately retains after the pool distributes its share. Any tips retained by the employer from the pool would violate the rule.
An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Georgia, when a worker holds two distinct jobs for the same employer — for example, a hotel maintenance person who also works shifts as a server — that worker is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. The tip credit rules apply only to the hours worked in the tipped occupation, where the employee customarily and regularly receives at least $30 a month in tips. For the hours the same worker spends in the non-tipped occupation, such as performing maintenance duties, the employer may not take a tip credit and must pay the full minimum wage. A Georgia worker in this situation needs to track which hours fall into each role, because the employer's right to count tips toward the minimum wage applies solely to the tipped job. This is different from a server who occasionally performs related duties like cleaning tables or making coffee, where the tip credit can apply throughout a shift that includes both tipped and untipped tasks.
if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. The worker is employed in two occupations, and no tip credit can be taken for their hours of employment in their occupation as a maintenance person.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
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.
Individuals FAQs - Fair Labor Standards Act (Georgia Department of Labor)
- Minimum cash wage
An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages, if that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked.
Other years
Every Georgia Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state