2022 Maine Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2022 Maine Tipped Minimum Wage is $6.38.
Effective 2022-01-01Source: Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)Verified 2026-08-31
Compared with 2021
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $6.08 | $6.38 | +$0.30 (+4.9%) |
Who it applies to
Service employees in Maine whose employer counts tips toward the state minimum wage.
What changed this year, and why
Maine's service employee minimum wage, the direct cash wage an employer must pay a tipped worker, rose to $6.38 an hour on January 1, 2022, from $6.08 the year before.
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum wage in Maine in 2022?
- Maine's service employee minimum wage was $6.38 per hour, effective January 1, 2022. Tips had to bring the worker's total pay up to the full state minimum wage.
- What happens if the tips fall short?
- The employer must be able to show that the direct wage and tips together reach at least the full Maine minimum wage for the week, and must make up any shortfall.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
The tip credit is the difference between the full state minimum wage and the direct cash wage your employer pays you. In Maine for 2022, employers must pay tipped employees at least $6.38 per hour in direct wages. The tip credit allows the employer to count a portion of the tips you receive toward meeting its obligation to pay the full minimum wage of $12.75 per hour. The cash wage of $6.38 represents the minimum amount your employer must pay directly, regardless of how much you earn in tips. At the end of each week, your employer must be able to verify that your combined direct wages and tips equal at least the full minimum wage. If your tips plus the direct cash wage fall short of $12.75 per hour for any workweek, the tip credit has exceeded what the law allows for that period.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Maine law requires employers to ensure that tipped employees receive at least the full state minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when direct wages and tips are combined at the end of each week. If your tips plus the direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour do not add up to the full minimum wage for any given workweek, the employer must make up the difference. This means your employer cannot simply pay you the lower cash wage and assume your tips will cover the rest. The employer bears the responsibility to verify each week that your total earnings meet the minimum wage threshold. If they fall short, your employer must pay you the additional amount needed to reach $12.75 per hour for that workweek, ensuring you never earn less than the state minimum wage regardless of how much you receive in tips.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before taking a tip credit, employers in Maine must provide written notice to tipped employees informing them of specific information about the tip credit arrangement. This notice requirement ensures that workers understand how their wages are calculated and what portion of their tips their employer is counting toward the minimum wage obligation. The employer must inform you of the direct cash wage it will pay, which must be at least $6.38 per hour, and explain that your tips will be combined with that wage to meet the full minimum wage of $12.75 per hour. Without proper notice, the employer cannot take advantage of the tip credit and may be required to pay you the full minimum wage directly. This notice protects your right to understand your compensation structure before the tip credit is applied to your wages.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Federal law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips, and this rule applies in Maine. Your tips belong to you, not to your employer, manager, or supervisor. Even when the employer takes a tip credit and counts your tips toward its minimum wage obligation, it cannot retain any part of those tips for itself. The tip credit allows the employer to reduce its direct wage payment to $6.38 per hour, but all tips you receive must go to you. This protection ensures that the tip credit system does not become a way for employers to appropriate worker tips. Whether you participate in a tip pool or receive tips directly, the employer and its managers and supervisors are barred from taking any share of the tips that customers leave for service employees.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
Tip pools in Maine 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 also typically receive tips as part of their job, such as other servers, bartenders, or bussers. Employers cannot include back-of-house workers who do not customarily receive tips, such as cooks or dishwashers, in a mandatory tip pool. The tip pooling arrangement must be restricted to traditionally tipped positions to be lawful. This restriction protects tipped employees from having to share their earnings with workers who do not have direct customer contact or who do not typically rely on tips as part of their compensation. Any tip pool that includes non-tipped employees violates this requirement.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
Doing two jobs for one employer
When you perform two different jobs for the same employer in Maine, you are a tipped employee only with respect to your employment as a server or other traditionally tipped position. This means the tip credit and the lower cash wage of $6.38 per hour apply only to the time you spend working in the tipped occupation. For hours spent performing non-tipped duties, your employer must pay you the full state minimum wage of $12.75 per hour. You cannot be paid the reduced tipped wage for work in a position where you do not customarily and regularly receive tips, even if you also work a tipped job for the same employer. This rule prevents employers from applying the tip credit to all your hours when only some of your work qualifies as tipped employment under the law.
the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour. This means that service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 per hour from the employer. The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum wage of $12.75 per hour when the direct wage and tips are combined at the end of the week.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
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.
Per State Law, Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022 (Maine Department of Labor)
- Minimum cash wage
In addition to the minimum wage, the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, in 2022 will be $6.38 per hour.
Other years
Every Maine Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state