2021 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.86.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $4.86 | $4.86 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in North Dakota
What changed this year, and why
The minimum cash wage for tipped employees in North Dakota is $4.86 per hour for 2021.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in North Dakota for 2021?
- Employers may take a tip credit against the full minimum wage. The minimum direct cash wage the employer must pay a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour. If tips do not bring the employee's total compensation up to the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.
- Who qualifies as a tipped employee in North Dakota?
- Yes. Under North Dakota law, a tipped employee is any service employee who regularly receives more than a set amount in tips per month. The employer must maintain written records showing the employee received at least the full minimum wage when the direct wage and tips are combined.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In North Dakota, employers may utilize a tip credit of 33% of the minimum wage for tipped employees. This means the employer can count a portion of the tips you receive toward its minimum wage obligation, paying you a lower direct cash wage of $4.86 per hour. The employer must maintain written records showing that your tips plus your direct wages add up to at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked. If in any workweek your cash wages and tips together fall short of the full minimum wage, the employer must cover the gap. The tip credit is not automatic—an employer who elects to use it must inform the employee in advance.
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
In North Dakota, when an employer takes a tip credit and pays a tipped employee the lower cash wage of $4.86 per hour, the employer must maintain written records verifying that the employee receives at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined. This means the employer is responsible for ensuring that your total earnings—your cash wage plus your tips—meet or exceed the full minimum wage in every workweek. If your tips in a given pay period are not enough to bring your total compensation up to the full minimum wage, the employer must cover the shortfall and pay you the difference. The employer cannot rely on the assumption that tips will always make up the gap; it must actively track and verify your total compensation.
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
In North Dakota, an employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the employee in advance. This means before your employer can pay you the lower cash wage of $4.86 per hour and count your tips toward its minimum wage obligation, it must tell you that it is taking the tip credit. You have a right to know that your employer is using this provision and how it affects your pay. The notice must come before the employer starts applying the credit—not after the fact. If your employer fails to give you this advance notice, it may not legally take the tip credit and could be required to pay you the full minimum wage without counting your tips.
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
In North Dakota, gratuities offered to an employee by a customer belong to the employee and may not be retained by the employer. This means your tips are your property—your employer cannot take any portion of them for itself. The rule applies to the employer as an entity, meaning the business cannot keep your tips or use them to offset its own costs. This protection ensures that when customers show appreciation by tipping you for your service, those tips go directly to you as the person who provided the service.
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)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In North Dakota, tip pooling is allowed only among tipped employees, and it requires a vote. Before a tip pool can be established, a vote of all tipped employees must be taken, and a majority plus one must approve it. The employer must maintain a written record of each vote on tip pooling, including names of employees voting and the vote totals. A vote on whether to pool tips is also required if requested by a specific percentage of the tipped employees, and those employees must provide documentation verifying the request. This means you cannot be forced into a tip pool without a democratic vote of your fellow tipped employees, and the process must be documented in writing. Gaming sites with four or fewer tipped employees on duty can require tip pooling among all tipped employees at the site. Pit bosses or supervisors at gaming sites are not tipped employees and cannot be part of the tip pool when performing their supervisory functions.
Tip pooling is allowed only among the tipped employees. A vote of tipped employees to allow tip pooling must be taken, and fifty percent plus one of all tipped employees must approve it. The employer must maintain a written record of each vote on tip pooling, including names of employees voting and the vote totals.
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