Pay and rights for servers
The short answer
Federal law sets the floor: a tipped cash wage of at least $2.13 an hour, and wages plus tips that reach $7.25. Your state can set higher pay, protect your tips, and require paid sick days. Start with your state’s row, then the questions below.
Minimum wage tables
Pay and deductions
Sick days
Leaving a job
Canada
By state
States whose rules differ enough from the federal floor to need their own page. Every other state is a row in the table above.
- Alaska: server minimum wage and pay
- Arizona: server minimum wage and pay
- Arkansas: server minimum wage and pay
- California: server minimum wage and pay
- California: tip pooling
- California: paid sick leave
- California: state tax on tips
- California: reporting time and split-shift pay
- California: benefits you can get
- Colorado: server minimum wage and pay
- Colorado: benefits you can get
- Connecticut: benefits you can get
- Delaware: server minimum wage and pay
- Delaware: benefits you can get
- District of Columbia: server minimum wage and pay
- District of Columbia: benefits you can get
- Florida: server minimum wage and pay
- Georgia: state tax on tips
- Georgia: benefits you can get
- Hawaii: server minimum wage and pay
- Hawaii: benefits you can get
- Illinois: server minimum wage and pay
- Illinois: tip pooling
- Illinois: paid sick leave
- Illinois: benefits you can get
- Maine: server minimum wage and pay
- Maine: benefits you can get
- Maryland: server minimum wage and pay
- Maryland: benefits you can get
- Massachusetts: server minimum wage and pay
- Massachusetts: tip pooling
- Massachusetts: paid sick leave
- Massachusetts: benefits you can get
- Michigan: server minimum wage and pay
- Michigan: benefits you can get
- Minnesota: server minimum wage and pay
- Minnesota: benefits you can get
- Missouri: server minimum wage and pay
- Nevada: server minimum wage and pay
- Nevada: tip pooling
- Nevada: paid sick leave
- New Jersey: benefits you can get
- New Mexico: server minimum wage and pay
- New York: paid sick leave
- New York: reporting time and split-shift pay
- New York: benefits you can get
- Oregon: benefits you can get
- Pennsylvania: server minimum wage and pay
- Pennsylvania: tip pooling
- Pennsylvania: benefits you can get
- Rhode Island: server minimum wage and pay
- South Dakota: server minimum wage and pay
- Vermont: server minimum wage and pay
- Virginia: benefits you can get
- Washington: server minimum wage and pay
- Washington: tip pooling
- Washington: paid sick leave
- Washington: benefits you can get
- West Virginia: server minimum wage and pay
Tips your employer handles
Who can share your tips, and what your employer can’t keep, is covered in Tip-outs and tip pools.
Official sources
TipMax Answers explains public government guidance on pay and workplace rules in plain English for tipped workers. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Rules change and local rules can add to them. Confirm with the agency linked on this page or a qualified professional. TipMax the app helps you track tips and pay; it doesn’t enforce wage law or decide disputes.