2017 Kentucky Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2017 Kentucky Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2017-01-01Source: Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)Verified 2026-08-31
Compared with 2016
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2016.
| Item | 2016 | 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 | $2.13 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Kentucky who take a tip credit toward the minimum wage
What changed this year, and why
Kentucky's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour. An employer may pay this reduced cash wage to any employee who customarily and regularly receives tips above a monthly threshold, provided the employer can show through its records that the employee's tips plus the cash wage equal at least the full state minimum wage for each workweek. If the combined amount falls short, the employer must make up the difference.
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Kentucky?
- An employer may pay a tipped employee a cash wage of $2.13 per hour if the employee customarily and regularly receives tips above a monthly threshold. The employer must be able to show through records that the employee's cash wage plus tips received equal at least the full state minimum wage for each week. If tips combined with the cash wage fall short, the employer must make up the difference.
- Can an employer use an employee's tips toward the minimum wage?
- No. An employer may not use an employee's tips to satisfy the minimum wage obligation unless the employee is a tipped employee as defined by law, and even then the employer must still pay at least $2.13 per hour in cash wages and ensure total compensation meets the minimum wage each week.
Who counts as a tipped employee
Under Kentucky law, a tipped employee is someone who works in an occupation where tips of more than $30 per month are customarily and regularly received. If you meet that threshold in Kentucky, your employer is allowed to pay you a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour, rather than the full state minimum wage, because your tips are expected to make up the rest. The $30-a-month figure is the dividing line: work in a role where tips routinely fall below it and you are not classified as a tipped employee, meaning your employer must pay you the full minimum wage with no tip credit. In Kentucky, employers must be able to show through their records, for each workweek in which the credit is taken, that the cash wage plus the tips you actually received together equal at least the minimum wage. If your job only occasionally produces tips and they do not regularly cross the $30 monthly threshold, the tipped-employee rules do not apply to you and you are entitled to the standard minimum wage from your employer.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Under Kentucky law, your employer may pay you a direct cash wage of $2.13 per hour instead of the full minimum wage only if your cash wage plus your tips together reach at least the minimum wage for every workweek in which the credit is claimed. The difference between the $2.13 cash wage you receive and the full minimum wage is the tip credit. If in any week your tips fall short and your total earnings drop below the minimum wage, the employer must add enough to your paycheck to bring you up to the minimum wage. Kentucky records must show this calculation week by week. The tip credit is not a blanket reduction; it is conditional on your actual tips filling the gap, and the employer carries the burden of proving each week that the gap was filled.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Kentucky, the $2.13 per hour cash wage is permitted only if your tips plus that cash wage equal at least the full minimum wage for each workweek. The gap between the cash wage you are paid and the full minimum wage is the tip credit. If your tips in a given week are low enough that your combined earnings fall short of the minimum wage, your employer must pay the shortfall so that your total for that week reaches at least the minimum wage. Kentucky requires employers to keep records showing, for each week the credit is taken, that adding your tips to your wages paid produced at least the minimum wage. You are therefore entitled to the full minimum wage every week; the tip credit simply allows the employer to count a portion of your tips toward meeting that obligation rather than paying it all in cash.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before a Kentucky employer can pay you the tipped cash wage of $2.13 per hour and take a tip credit, the employer must give you notice of the arrangement. Kentucky law requires that the employer inform you, in advance, that it will be counting your tips toward the minimum wage obligation and that you will be paid the reduced direct wage. Without that notice, the employer cannot rely on the tip credit and must pay you the full minimum wage in cash. The notice ensures you understand how your wages are being calculated and can verify that your tips plus the cash wage are reaching at least the minimum wage each week. Kentucky employers bear the responsibility of providing this information before the tip credit is applied; you should not discover after the fact that your employer has been treating you as a tipped employee without telling you.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Kentucky law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of tips that belong to their employees. Your tips are your property, not your employer's. No employer, manager, or supervisor may take a share of your tips, require you to hand over gratuities, or use your tips to offset business costs. The only exception is when the employer is required by federal or state law to withhold amounts - for example, tax withholdings - from your tips. If you and other employees voluntarily agree to pool your tips and divide them among yourselves, the amounts each of you retains are treated as that individual's tips. However, if the employer requires a tip pool, Kentucky law requires that the account holding the pool be kept separate from the employer's other business records and be open for inspection by the pool's participants, so you can verify how the tips are being handled.
Require an employee to remit to the employer any gratuity, or any portion thereof, except for the purpose of withholding amoun ts required by federal or state law.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Kentucky, employees may voluntarily agree among themselves to divide their tips. If you and your coworkers choose to pool tips, the amounts each of you keeps are considered that individual's tips. However, if your employer requires you to participate in a tip pool, Kentucky law imposes specific safeguards. The account holding the tip pool must be kept separate from the employer's other business records, and the employer must make that account open to inspection by the pool's participants. This means you have the right to see how the pool is being managed and how tips are being distributed. The tip pool cannot include people who do not customarily receive tips, such as managers, supervisors, or the employer itself. Kentucky's rule ensures that mandatory tip pools are transparent and that the tips remain with the workers who earned them.
If an employer requires the use of a tip pool, then the account used to hold the tip pool shall be segregated from the employer’s other business records and the employer shall make the account open to the pool’s participants.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Kentucky, if you work for one employer in two different jobs - one where you regularly receive tips and one where you do not - you are considered a tipped employee only for the job where tips are customary. For example, if you work as a server receiving tips and also work as a dishwasher for the same employer where no tips are received, the tipped minimum wage of $2.13 per hour applies only to your hours as a server. For your hours in the non-tipped position, your employer must pay you at least the full minimum wage. Kentucky law requires that the employer track your hours and wages separately for each role. You cannot be paid the reduced tipped wage for time spent in work that does not customarily generate tips, even if both jobs are for the same employer. This protects you from having your non-tipped work subsidized by the tip credit.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
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.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
- Minimum cash wage
a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish
Other years
Every Kentucky Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state