2022 Vermont Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2022 Vermont Tipped Minimum Wage is $6.28.
Effective 2022-01-01Source: Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2021
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $5.88 | $6.28 | +$0.40 (+6.8%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Vermont
What changed this year, and why
Vermont's minimum cash wage for tipped employees was set at $6.28 per hour, effective January 1, 2022.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in Vermont for 2022?
- Tipped employees in Vermont had to receive at least $6.28 per hour in direct wages from their employer, effective January 1, 2022. If this amount plus tips did not equal the full state minimum wage, the employer was required to make up the difference.
- How does the 2022 tipped wage compare to prior years?
- The tipped minimum cash wage was $5.88 per hour in 2021.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Vermont, a worker is classified as a tipped employee when they customarily and regularly receive tips as part of their job. This classification matters because it determines whether your employer can pay you the lower tipped minimum wage rather than the full state minimum wage. If you work in a role where tips are a standard part of your compensation—such as serving tables, bartending, or working as a hotel bellhop—and you receive those tips on a consistent basis, you fall under the tipped employee rules. For 2022, Vermont sets the tipped minimum cash wage at $6.28 per hour, while the full minimum wage for non-tipped workers is $12.55 per hour. The difference between these two rates is made up through the tip credit system, which allows your employer to count a portion of your tips toward meeting the minimum wage obligation. If you do not customarily and regularly receive tips, your employer must pay you the full $12.55 per hour with no tip credit applied. This classification ensures that workers who rely on tips as a regular part of their income can be compensated under the tipped wage structure rather than the standard minimum wage.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Vermont, the tip credit is the difference between the full minimum wage and the direct cash wage your employer pays you. For 2022, the full Vermont minimum wage is $12.55 per hour and the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $6.28 per hour, so the tip credit equals the difference between those two amounts. Your employer pays you at least $6.28 per hour in direct wages, and your tips are expected to cover the rest up to $12.55. If your tips in a given pay period are enough to bring your total earnings to $12.55 or more per hour, the employer has met its obligation. But if your tips fall short and your combined earnings drop below $12.55 per hour, your employer must make up the difference. The tip credit lets employers count tips toward the minimum wage, but it does not relieve them of the responsibility to ensure you earn at least the full state minimum when direct wages and tips are added together.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Vermont, if your tips plus your employer's direct cash wage do not add up to at least $12.55 per hour in 2022, your employer must make up the difference. The tip credit system assumes your tips will bridge the gap between the $6.28 cash wage and the full $12.55 minimum wage, but tips can vary from week to week. On slow nights or during off-peak seasons, your tips may be lower than expected. When that happens and your total hourly earnings fall below $12.55, your employer cannot simply pay you the $6.28 cash wage and leave it at that. Vermont law requires the employer to increase your pay for that pay period so that your combined earnings reach at least $12.55 per hour worked. This guarantee ensures that the tip credit does not become a penalty for you when business is slow or tips are sparse. Your employer bears the risk of tip fluctuations, not you, and must track your earnings each pay period to confirm you hit the minimum.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In Vermont, before your employer can take a tip credit and pay you the lower cash wage of $6.28 per hour instead of the full $12.55 minimum wage, it must give you notice. Federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to inform tipped employees that they will be applying the tip credit, how much the direct cash wage will be, how much of the tip credit is being claimed, and that all tips received belong to the employee except for valid tip pooling arrangements. This notice must be provided before the employer starts paying you at the tipped wage rate. If your employer fails to give you this information, it cannot legally claim the tip credit, and you are entitled to the full $12.55 per hour minimum wage from the employer directly. Vermont follows this federal notice requirement as part of its wage and hour protections. Make sure you understand what you are being told before you start working at the tipped rate, and ask questions if anything is unclear.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In Vermont, your employer, your manager, and your supervisor may not keep any portion of your tips. Tips belong to the employee who receives them, not to the business or its owners. Even if a tip is left on a credit card or handed to a supervisor to pass along, it must go to the worker who earned it. Employers cannot deduct tips from your wages, hold onto them for any reason, or use them to offset business expenses. The only exception is a valid tip pooling arrangement where tips are shared among eligible workers, but even then the employer itself cannot take a cut. This rule applies whether you work in a Vermont restaurant, bar, hotel, or any other tipped position. If your employer or any of its managers keeps any part of your tips, that is a violation of wage and hour law. You are entitled to receive all tips that customers give you, and your employer has no right to intercept them or claim them as business revenue.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Vermont, tip pooling is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means only workers who typically earn tips as part of their job — such as servers, bartenders, bussers, and hosts — can be required to share their tips in a pool. Non-tipped employees like cooks, dishwashers, janitors, or managers cannot be included in the pool, even if they help support the tipped workers. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that tips stay among the people who are meant to receive them under the law. If you are a server in a Vermont restaurant and your employer requires you to share tips with the kitchen staff, that may violate tip pooling rules unless those kitchen employees also customarily receive tips from customers. Valid tip pools must include only eligible participants, and employers cannot use the pool to redistribute tips to themselves or to workers who do not normally get tipped. The $6.28 cash wage and $12.55 minimum wage framework assumes tips flow only to tipped employees through proper pools.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Vermont, if you work two different jobs for the same employer — one where you receive tips and one where you do not — you are a tipped employee only with respect to your work as a server or other tipped role. For example, if you work as a server for some shifts and as a prep cook for other shifts at the same Vermont restaurant, your employer can pay you the tipped cash wage of $6.28 per hour only for the hours you actually work as a server. For the hours you work as a prep cook, where tips are not customary, your employer must pay you the full Vermont minimum wage of $12.55 per hour. The dual jobs rule prevents employers from applying the tip credit to all your hours just because you sometimes work in a tipped position. Each job duty is evaluated separately, and you are owed the appropriate wage for each. If your employer pays you the lower tipped wage for non-tipped work, that is a violation. Keep track of what you do each shift and make sure your paycheck reflects the correct rate for each type of work.
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Wage and Hour (Vermont 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.
Wage and Hour (Vermont Department of Labor)
- Minimum cash wage
Effective 01/01/2022: $12.55 per hour worked / $6.28 for tipped employees
Other years
Every Vermont Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state