2016 West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage

Name: 2016 West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage
Creator: DOL

The 2016 West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.62.

Minimum cash wage$2.62

Effective 2016-01-01Source: Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)Verified 2026-09-01

Who it applies to

Employers of tipped service employees in West Virginia

What changed this year, and why

For 2016, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in West Virginia is $2.62 per hour, effective January 1, 2016.

Common questions

What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in West Virginia?: As of January 1, 2016, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.62 per hour. The employer must ensure that the employee's total earnings, including tips, reach the state minimum wage. If they do not, the employer must make up the difference.

Who counts as a tipped employee

West Virginia’s minimum wage law defines a tipped employee as a service worker whose employer takes a tip credit. The state permits an employer to apply a 70 percent credit against the minimum wage requirement for employees who receive tips. As a result, an employer in West Virginia may pay a tipped employee a cash wage of $2.62 per hour, as long as the employee's hourly cash wage plus reported tips together reach the full state minimum wage. If the combined amount falls short, the employer must make up the difference. Workers in West Virginia who receive tips should be aware that their employer is allowed to pay the lower cash wage only if it actually brings the employee's total hourly compensation to the required minimum; if it does not, the employer is obligated to increase wages to meet that requirement.

West Virginia’s minimum wage standards allow employers a 70% credit against the minimum wage requirement for their service employees that receive tips. That means an employer may pay his or her tipped employees a cash wage of $2.62 per hour, as long as the employee’s hourly cash rate, plus reported tips, equal $8.75 per hour.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it

In West Virginia, employers may take a tip credit equal to 70% of the minimum wage when paying tipped workers. This means instead of paying the full state minimum wage directly, employers can count a portion of your tips toward that obligation, as long as they pay you at least $2.62 per hour in direct cash wages. The tip credit reduces what the employer must pay out of pocket, but your total compensation — your cash wage plus your reported tips — must still reach the state minimum wage level. If your employer does not meet the requirement of having six or more employees at your work location, federal rules may apply instead, which set a different minimum cash wage. The tip credit is not automatic; it only applies to employees in occupations where receiving tips is part of the job, and your employer must have written records of your tips to claim the credit.

West Virginia’s minimum wage standards allow employers a 70% credit against the minimum wage requirement for their service employees that receive tips.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage

In West Virginia, if your employer claims a tip credit, they must have written tip records that you complete. These records document the tips you actually received. If your employer cannot produce these written records showing your tip income, they lose the right to take the tip credit and must pay you the full state minimum wage instead of the reduced tipped employee rate. This requirement protects you by ensuring that employers cannot claim you received tips you did not actually earn. The written records serve as proof that the tip credit is legitimate. Without them, the employer bears the full minimum wage obligation. Keep your own records of tips as well, and make sure your employer has you complete the necessary documentation if they are taking a tip credit against your wages.

In order to take a credit against the minimum wage for tips, the employer must have written tip records completed by the employee.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit

West Virginia requires that before an employer can take a tip credit, the employee must complete written tip records. This is the state's way of ensuring that both you and your employer have documentation of the tips you actually received. The records must be in writing and filled out by you. Without this documentation, the employer cannot claim the credit and must pay you the full minimum wage. This requirement serves as a form of notice and accountability — it ensures transparency about your tip income and prevents disputes over whether tips were received. If your employer is taking a tip credit, make sure you are completing and keeping copies of your tip records.

If such tip records were not provided, the employer would have to pay the employee the full minimum wage of $8.75 per hour.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

When state law gives more than the federal rule

West Virginia law sets its own minimum wage and tip credit rules, but federal law also applies to tipped workers. When both state and federal rules could apply, the standard that gives you the most protection as an employee is the one that must be followed. For example, if your employer does not meet West Virginia's requirement of having six or more employees at your work location, the state minimum wage may not apply, and federal rules would govern instead. In that case, a different minimum cash wage and tip credit structure would apply. The key principle is that you are entitled to whichever rule — state or federal — results in higher pay or better protections for you as a worker in West Virginia.

Should the employer not meet the condition of having six employees at any one separate, distinct and permanent work location to fall under state minimum wage requirements, the federal tip credit of $2.13 per hour may apply.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips

West Virginia law is clear that employers cannot keep any portion of your tips. Even if your employer takes a tip credit and pays you a reduced cash wage, the tips you receive belong to you. The employer cannot take a share, retain part of them, or use them for any business purpose. This rule applies regardless of how tips are collected — whether in cash, on credit cards, or through a tip pool. All tips are your property, and your employer has no legal right to any portion of them. The tip credit allows the employer to count your tips toward their minimum wage obligation, but it does not give them ownership of those tips or the right to keep any part of them.

Under no circumstances may the employer receive a share of any tips.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

Which tip pools you can be made to join

In West Virginia, tip pools are restricted to employees who are eligible to receive tips. This means only workers in positions where receiving tips is customary can be included in a tip pool or tip sharing arrangement. If you work in a role that does not typically involve receiving tips, you cannot be forced to participate in a tip pool. The law ensures that tip sharing is limited to the tipped workforce — servers, bartenders, bussers, and similar positions where gratuities are a regular part of compensation. Employers cannot include managers, supervisors, or the business itself in the tip pool, and they cannot distribute pooled tips to employees who do not customarily receive them in the course of their work.

Only those employees that are eligible to receive tips may be included in a tip pool, or tip sharing situation.
Minimum Wage FAQ (West Virginia Division of Labor)

Doing two jobs for one employer

The concept of dual jobs — where you work two different roles for the same employer, one tipped and one not — is not specifically addressed in West Virginia's minimum wage FAQ. However, the state's tip credit rules apply to "service employees that receive tips," which suggests the tipped employee classification is tied to the specific job duties you are performing at any given time. If you split your time between a tipped position and a non-tipped position with the same employer, the tip credit would likely apply only to the hours you spend in the tipped role. During the hours you work in the non-tipped role, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage. For detailed guidance on dual job situations, contact the West Virginia Division of Labor or the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.