2020 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2020 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.86.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $4.86 | $4.86 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped employees and their employers in North Dakota
What changed this year, and why
North Dakota's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $4.86 per hour in 2020. Employers may take a tip credit against the minimum wage for tipped employees. The employer must maintain written records verifying that each tipped employee receives at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined.
Common questions
- Must the employer ensure that tips bring the employee up to the full minimum wage?
- Yes. The employer must keep written records showing that the employee's direct wage plus tips received equals at least the full minimum wage for every hour worked.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In North Dakota, a tipped employee is defined as any service employee working in an occupation where they regularly receive tips exceeding a minimal monthly amount. To qualify as a service employee, the person must provide direct personal face-to-face service to individual customers in a way the customer would recognize as being performed for their benefit. This excludes back-of-house roles like cooking and dishwashing. The customer must also show appreciation for that service by tipping the employee. This definition determines which workers in North Dakota can be paid the reduced cash wage of $4.86 per hour instead of the full minimum wage.
A tipped employee is any service employee in an occupation in which he or she receives more than thirty dollars per month in tips.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
North Dakota allows employers to take a tip credit of 33% of the minimum wage for tipped employees. This means employers can count a portion of the tips received toward their minimum wage obligation, paying a reduced cash wage of $4.86 per hour directly to the employee. The tip credit represents the difference between this cash wage and the full minimum wage. However, employers must maintain written records verifying that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when combining the direct cash wage with tips. This ensures workers actually earn the standard minimum wage once all compensation is counted together.
Employers may utilize a tip credit of 33% of the minimum wage for tipped employees.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Under North Dakota law, employers must maintain written records verifying that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined. This means that if an employee's direct wage of $4.86 per hour plus their tips does not equal the full minimum wage, the employer is responsible for making up the difference. The employer bears the obligation to track both the cash wage paid and tips received to ensure the worker meets the minimum wage threshold for every hour worked. This protection prevents employees from earning less than the standard minimum wage due to slow business or other factors affecting tip income.
The employer must maintain written records verifying that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
North Dakota requires that an employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the employee in advance. This advance notice ensures workers understand that their employer is applying the tip credit, which allows the employer to pay the reduced direct wage of $4.86 per hour rather than the full minimum wage. The notice requirement gives employees the opportunity to understand their compensation structure and verify that they are receiving the proper wages when combining the direct cash wage with their tip income. Without this advance notification, employers cannot legally apply the tip credit to reduce their wage obligations.
An employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the employee in advance.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
North Dakota law clearly states that gratuities offered to an employee by a customer belong to the employee and may not be retained by the employer. This means employers, managers, and supervisors are prohibited from keeping any portion of tips that customers leave for workers. Tips are the property of the employee who receives them, and employers cannot require workers to turn over their tips or take a share for the business. This protection ensures that the tip income intended for service workers actually reaches them rather than being diverted to management or used to offset business costs.
Gratuities offered to an employee by a customer belong to the employee and may not be retained by the employer.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
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.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
- Minimum cash wage
With the tip credit applied, the minimum direct wage payable to a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour
Other years
Every North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state