2026 West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2026 West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.62.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2025
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2025.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.62 | $2.62 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in West Virginia. The cash wage is the part of the minimum wage the employer pays directly. The rest may be met by the employee's tips, up to the maximum tip credit the same row of the table states, and the table sets out separately how much an employee must receive in tips to count as a tipped employee at all.
What changed this year, and why
The Wage and Hour Division's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, in the version last revised July 1, 2026, gives $2.62 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in West Virginia. The table carries only its own revision date and never dates the rate, so this page reports the figure as in force as of that revision rather than claiming an effective date no document states.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in West Virginia in 2026?
- $2.62 per hour in cash wages. That is what the Department of Labor's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, last revised July 1, 2026, gives as the minimum cash wage for a tipped employee in West Virginia. Tips make up the remainder of the applicable minimum wage, up to the maximum tip credit stated in the same row.
- What if tips do not bring the employee up to the full minimum wage?
- The employer pays the difference. A tip credit is a credit against the minimum wage the employer already owes, not a lower wage in its own right, so an employee whose cash wage and tips together fall short of the applicable minimum wage is owed the shortfall in wages.
- Where does the figure on this page come from?
- From Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees, the table the Wage and Hour Division publishes by state, in the version last revised July 1, 2026. The row it was read from is quoted on this page, and the snapshot it was verified against is the one captured for this record.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Tips needed per hour takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In West Virginia, you count as a tipped employee under federal law if you work in an occupation where you customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. This $30 threshold is the defining line: if your tips from customers typically stay below that amount in a typical month, your employer cannot treat you as a tipped employee and cannot use the tip credit rules described below. Only tips you actually receive count toward this determination; suggested tip amounts or service charges added by the house do not qualify. Once you meet this definition, special wage rules apply to you, including a lower minimum cash wage your employer is required to pay and the possibility that your employer will count a portion of your tips toward its obligation to pay you the minimum wage.
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
In West Virginia, the federal tip credit lets an employer count a portion of the tips you receive toward its obligation to pay you the minimum wage. The employer must still pay you a direct cash wage of at least $2.62 per hour. The tip credit is the difference between that cash wage and the minimum wage the employer owes you. If your tips plus your cash wage fall short of the minimum wage in any workweek, your employer must make up the difference out of its own funds. This guarantee applies every single workweek, not just on average over a month or a pay period. You do not have to agree to this arrangement in advance; instead, your employer is required to notify you of the cash wage it will pay and the tip credit it will take before it begins using the tip credit. If the employer fails to give you that notice, it cannot take a tip credit at all and must pay you the full minimum wage directly.
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
In West Virginia, if your tips plus your employer's direct cash wage do not add up to at least the full minimum wage in a workweek, your employer must pay you the shortfall. This protection applies every single workweek, not just on average over a pay period or a month. The employer cannot wait to see if slow weeks are offset by busy weeks; each workweek stands on its own. This means that in weeks when business is slow and tips are low, you are still guaranteed to receive at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. The employer bears the risk of fluctuating tip income, not you. If the employer fails to make up the difference at the regular payday for the workweek in which the shortfall occurred, it has violated the law.
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
In West Virginia, before an employer can take a tip credit against your wages, it must give you notice containing specific information. The notice must tell you the amount of the cash wage the employer is paying you, the additional amount the employer is claiming as a tip credit, that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips you actually receive, that you are entitled to keep all your tips except for valid tip pooling arrangements, and that the tip credit will not apply unless you have been informed of these provisions. The employer may give this notice orally or in writing, but it must be provided before the employer takes the credit. If the employer fails to provide this information, it cannot take the tip credit at all and must pay you the full minimum wage directly. This notice requirement ensures that tipped employees understand how their wages are being calculated and what portion of their tips the employer is counting toward its minimum wage obligation.
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
In West Virginia, when state law provides greater protections than federal law, employers must follow the rule that benefits employees more. This means if West Virginia requires a higher cash wage than the federal minimum, or if it prohibits tip credits entirely, the employer must comply with the state standard. Similarly, if federal law provides protections that West Virginia does not, the employer must follow the federal rule. The principle is simple: you are entitled to whichever standard gives you higher wages, better tip protections, or stronger notice requirements. Employers cannot cherry-pick the more favorable rule for themselves. This interaction between state and federal law ensures that tipped workers in West Virginia receive the maximum protection available under either legal system.
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
In West Virginia, the law prohibits employers, including managers and supervisors, from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This rule applies regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit or pays the full minimum wage directly. An employer cannot require you to hand over your tips to the business, to a supervisor, or to a manager. Managers and supervisors are defined as employees whose primary duty is managing the enterprise or a recognized department, who regularly direct the work of at least two other employees, and who have authority to hire or fire. Business owners with a significant equity interest who are actively engaged in management also fall into this category. A manager or supervisor may keep only tips they receive directly from customers for service they personally provide, but they cannot participate in tip pools or take a share of other employees' tips.
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.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In West Virginia, when an employer takes a tip credit, it can only require tipped employees to contribute to a tip pool that includes employees in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips. This is called a traditional tip pool and is limited to workers such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. The employer cannot include non-tipped employees like cooks or dishwashers in this pool. The employer must notify tipped employees of any required contribution amount and can only take a tip credit for the tips each employee ultimately receives after the pool is distributed. The employer itself cannot receive any portion of the pooled tips, and managers and supervisors are prohibited from participating. This restriction ensures that tip pools under the tip credit system stay within the group of employees who depend on tips as a regular part of their compensation.
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
In West Virginia, when you work two different jobs for the same employer, you are considered a tipped employee only with respect to the job where you customarily and regularly receive tips. For example, if you work as both a maintenance person and a server at a hotel, you are a tipped employee only for your hours as a server. The employer cannot take a tip credit for the hours you work as a maintenance person and must pay you the full minimum wage for those hours. This rule prevents employers from applying the lower tipped wage rate to all your hours just because you occasionally receive tips in one role. However, if you perform related duties in your tipped occupation, such as a server who cleans tables or makes coffee, those duties are still part of your tipped occupation and the tip credit can apply to those hours. The key distinction is whether you are performing work in a tipped occupation or in a separate non-tipped occupation.
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.
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 Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)
- Minimum cash wage
West Virginia 10 $8.75 70% of the applicable minimum wage ($6.13) $2.62 Not specified
Other years
Every West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state