2017 Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2017 Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage is $3.63.
Effective 2017-01-01Source: Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2016
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2016.
| Item | 2016 | 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $3.63 | $3.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Maryland
What changed this year, and why
Maryland's tipped minimum cash wage for 2017
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Maryland in 2017?
- Employers must pay tipped employees at least $3.63 per hour in cash wages. This amount plus the tips received must equal at least the full state minimum wage rate.
- Who qualifies as a tipped employee?
- A tipped employee is one who regularly earns more than a small threshold amount per month in tips, as defined by Maryland law.
- What if a tipped employee performs non-tip duties?
- For any time spent on non-tip related tasks, the employer must pay the employee at least the full minimum wage rate.
Who counts as a tipped employee
Under Maryland law, a worker counts as a tipped employee when they customarily and regularly bring in more than $30 in tips over the course of a month. Once that threshold is met, the employer is allowed to pay the worker a cash wage that is lower than the full state minimum wage, because the employee's tips are expected to make up the rest. Workers who receive tips only occasionally, or whose tips fall below that $30 monthly mark, do not qualify for this classification and must be paid the full minimum wage in cash by their employer, with no tip credit applied.
Tipped Employees (earning more than $30 per month in tips) must earn the State Minimum Wage Rate per hour.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Maryland allows an employer to take a tip credit, which means the employer can count a portion of the worker's tips toward satisfying the state minimum wage. However, the employer must still pay a direct cash wage of at least $3.63 per hour. That $3.63 is the lowest hourly amount the employer can put on the paycheck before adding tips. The cash wage plus the tips received must together reach at least the full state minimum wage rate for every hour worked. If the tips do not bridge the gap, the employer is responsible for covering the shortfall so the worker's total compensation meets the minimum wage.
Employers must pay at least $3.63 per hour. This amount plus tips must equal at least the State Minimum Wage Rate.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Under Maryland law, the employer's cash wage plus the worker's tips must together reach at least the state minimum wage rate for every hour worked. If, in a given pay period, the worker's tips are not large enough to bring total compensation up to that level, the employer must pay the difference. The worker is guaranteed the full minimum wage regardless of how slow business is or how small the tips turn out to be. The employer cannot shift that shortfall onto the employee; the obligation to make up the gap rests entirely with the employer.
This amount plus tips must equal at least the State Minimum Wage Rate.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
Doing two jobs for one employer
Maryland addresses workers who split their time between tipped and non-tipped duties. When a tipped employee is assigned to perform non-tip related tasks, the employer must pay at least the full state minimum wage rate for that non-tipped time. The tip credit does not apply to those hours; the employer must cover the entire minimum wage out of direct cash pay for any period the worker is doing work that does not produce tips. This protects workers from having their non-tipped time subsidized by tips earned during other parts of the shift.
Note: Tipped employees who are from time to time assigned to perform non-tip related tasks must be paid by their employer at least the full minimum wage rate for that non-tipped time.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
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.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
- Minimum cash wage
Employers must pay at least $3.63 per hour.
Other years
Every Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state