2020 Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2020 Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.83.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Minimum Wage Law Summary (LLC-1) (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.83 | $2.83 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Pennsylvania employers who pay tipped employees under the state minimum wage law
What changed this year, and why
The minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Pennsylvania remained $2.83 per hour in 2020.
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage an employer must pay a tipped employee in Pennsylvania?
- In 2020, the minimum cash wage is $2.83 per hour for a tipped employee who meets the monthly tip threshold set by the state.
- What if a tipped employee's cash wage and tips do not add up to the regular minimum wage?
- The employer must increase the cash wage so the employee receives at least the regular Pennsylvania minimum wage.
Who counts as a tipped employee
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a tipped employee is anyone engaged in an occupation where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. In Pennsylvania, this definition determines whether an employer may pay the state's tipped cash wage of $2.83 per hour and count a portion of the worker's tips toward meeting the minimum wage obligation. If the worker does not regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips, the employer must pay the full minimum wage and cannot take a tip credit. Only tips actually received by the employee count when deciding whether the employee meets this threshold and when applying the tip credit.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
The tip credit is the difference between the cash wage an employer pays directly to a tipped worker and the minimum wage the employer must otherwise guarantee. In Pennsylvania, the minimum cash wage is $2.83 per hour. The employer may count a portion of the tips the worker actually receives toward satisfying the full minimum wage, but only up to that difference. If the employer takes a tip credit, it must ensure that the employee's tips plus the direct cash wage together equal at least the full minimum wage in every workweek. Only tips the employee actually received count toward meeting the minimum wage requirement; projected or expected tips do not.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
If a tipped worker's tips combined with the employer's direct cash wages do not add up to at least the full minimum hourly wage in a given workweek, the employer is required to make up the shortfall. In Pennsylvania, the minimum cash wage is $2.83 per hour, so the employer must track what the worker actually earns in tips each week. When the cash wage of $2.83 plus the tips received falls below the applicable minimum wage for that workweek, the employer must pay the difference out of its own funds. This guarantee applies every workweek, not just on average over a pay period.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before an employer may take a tip credit, it must give the tipped employee specific information. The notice must state the amount of the direct cash wage the employer is paying, which in Pennsylvania must be at least $2.83 per hour. It must also state the additional amount the employer is claiming as a tip credit, inform the employee that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips actually received, explain that all tips received belong to the employee (unless the employee is part of a valid tip pool), and confirm that the tip credit will not apply unless the employee has been given this information. Employers may give this notice orally or in writing. An employer that fails to provide it cannot take the tip credit at all, and must pay the full minimum wage instead.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA:
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When a state law and the federal FLSA set different rules for tipped employees, the employer must follow whichever rule is more protective of the worker. In Pennsylvania, the state's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.83 per hour, which is higher than the federal floor. Where the state provides a higher cash wage, a stricter notice requirement, or a greater restriction on tip pooling, Pennsylvania employers must meet the state standard. An employer cannot rely on the federal rule as a safe harbor if the state rule gives the employee more money or more protection.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Under federal law, which applies in Pennsylvania, employers are not allowed to keep any part of a tipped employee's tips, no matter whether the employer claims a tip credit or pays the full minimum wage directly. An employer in Pennsylvania may not require a worker to hand over tips to the business itself, to a manager, or to a supervisor. This protection extends even when the employer pays the employee at least the full federal minimum wage and does not use the tip credit at all. The ban on keeping tips also covers tip pools: no portion of a tip pool may be directed to the employer or to anyone who qualifies as a manager or supervisor. A manager or supervisor is generally someone whose main duty is managing the business or a recognized department, who regularly directs the work of at least two full-time employees, and who has hiring or firing authority. Pennsylvania employers must distribute tips to the employees who earned them and may not use those tips for any other purpose.
Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
When a Pennsylvania employer takes a tip credit—paying the tipped cash wage of $2.83 per hour and counting tips toward the minimum wage—the law restricts who can participate in a mandatory tip pool. The employer can require tipped employees to contribute their tips only to a pool limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This is sometimes called a "traditional" tip pool. Examples of qualifying occupations include waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. The employer must notify tipped employees of any required contribution amount and may only take a tip credit for tips each tipped employee ultimately retains after the pool is distributed. The employer itself may not receive any tips from the pool, and managers and supervisors are excluded from participating. Pennsylvania workers in a traditional tip pool can therefore be required to share only with coworkers who also regularly receive tips as part of their job.
An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
Under federal law, which applies in Pennsylvania, a worker who holds two different positions for the same employer may be treated as a tipped employee only for the hours spent in the tipped occupation. For example, if a hotel maintenance worker also works as a server and customarily and regularly receives at least $30 a month in tips from server work, that worker is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. The employer may take a tip credit for the server hours only, paying the tipped cash wage for those hours. For the hours worked as a maintenance person, no tip credit may be taken, and the employer must pay the full minimum wage. This rule is different from a tipped worker who simply performs related duties—such as a server who cleans tables, toasts bread, or makes coffee—within the same tipped occupation. Pennsylvania workers doing genuinely separate jobs for one employer must therefore be paid at the full minimum wage for all non-tipped hours.
In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. The worker is employed in two occupations, and no tip credit can be taken for their hours of employment in their occupation as a maintenance person.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
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.
Minimum Wage Law Summary (LLC-1) (Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry)
- Minimum cash wage
An employer may pay a minimum of $2.83 per hour to an employee who makes $30.00 per month in tips.
Other years
Every Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state