Louisiana Minimum Wage: What Employers Must Pay
Louisiana has no state minimum wage, so the federal $7.25 applies. Tipped cash wage is $2.13, no city or parish rate exists, and nothing is scheduled.
Louisiana Minimum Wage
No state rate, so the federal $7.25 applies. Tipped cash wage $2.13, no city or parish rate, no scheduled increase
A wage floor is the one number in HR where being roughly right is the same as being wrong. Every other figure you track has some tolerance in it. This one does not, because the gap between what you paid and what you owed becomes back wages, and back wages come with interest and attention.
Louisiana is one of the few states where that number is genuinely simple, and I would rather say so in one page than bury it inside a long guide. There is no Louisiana minimum wage. There is no Baton Rouge rate, no Shreveport rate, no parish rate. There is one figure, it comes from federal law, and it has not moved in a very long time.
This page covers the rate, the tipped rules, the youth wage, the poster, and what you do on the day the floor finally moves. Pay rate at hire is one of the fields I made hard to skip when I built FirstHR, precisely because it is the field nobody goes back to check. For everything else about employing people in the state, the Louisiana HR compliance guide is the broader reference.
The Rate Right Now
The minimum wage in Louisiana is $7.25 per hour, and it is the federal rate rather than a state one. Louisiana has never enacted a minimum wage statute, so employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act pay the federal floor, which took effect on July 24, 2009.
The US Department of Labor keeps the authoritative list at State Minimum Wage Laws, and Louisiana appears there as a state with no minimum wage law of its own. Four other states are in the same position: Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Enforcement runs through the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, not through a state wage agency.
| Item | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| State minimum wage law | None. Louisiana has not enacted one |
| Rate that applies | $7.25 per hour, federal FLSA |
| Effective date of that rate | July 24, 2009 |
| Next scheduled increase | None |
| Tipped cash wage | $2.13 per hour |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 per hour |
| City or parish rates | None. Preempted by La. R.S. 23:642 |
| Youth wage | $4.25 per hour, federal, first 90 consecutive calendar days |
| Enforcing agency | US DOL Wage and Hour Division |
| State minimum wage poster | None. The federal FLSA poster covers it |
One consequence of having no state law is worth stating plainly. Louisiana employers get no state-level protections and no state-level extras: no state wage claim process for a minimum wage shortfall, no state annual indexation, and no state agency publishing a rate each autumn. Everything on this page traces back to federal law and to one Louisiana statute that says the parishes may not write their own.
When the Rate Changes Next
No increase is scheduled. That is the whole answer, and it is unusual enough among the fifty states to be worth saying without hedging.
Two things would have to happen for a Louisiana employer to face a higher floor. Either Congress raises the federal minimum, which requires a bill signed into law and has not happened since the 2007 amendments that produced the $7.25 rate, or the Louisiana Legislature enacts a state minimum wage for the first time. Bills doing the latter are filed regularly, including a House bill in the 2026 Regular Session proposing $12 per hour, and none has become law.
The practical planning advice is the opposite of what employers in indexed states need. You are not budgeting for an annual step-up. You are budgeting against a local labor market that, for most roles, already prices well above $7.25, and watching for a single legislative event that would change the picture all at once. Track it through the state increase tracker rather than assuming a quiet year means a quiet next year.
Tipped Employees and the Tip Credit
Louisiana allows the full federal tip credit. The cash wage an employer must pay directly is $2.13 per hour, and the maximum tip credit is $5.12 per hour, which together reach the $7.25 floor. Because Louisiana has no state law narrowing the credit, the federal maximum is the operative one.
| Tipped wage element | Louisiana figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage paid by employer | $2.13 per hour | FLSA, no state modification |
| Maximum tip credit claimed | $5.12 per hour | $7.25 minus $2.13 |
| Combined minimum the employee must reach | $7.25 per hour | Federal minimum wage |
| Who counts as a tipped employee | More than $30 a month in tips, customarily and regularly | FLSA definition |
| Period the math is tested over | Each workweek | FLSA |
| State law narrowing the credit | None | Louisiana has no tip credit statute |
The rule that catches small employers is the workweek test. If an employee's cash wages plus actual tips do not average $7.25 per hour across a given workweek, the employer owes the difference for that week, and a strong week later does not cure a weak week earlier. Two conditions also attach to the credit itself: the employer must inform the employee it is taking the credit beforehand, and the employee must retain the tips other than through a valid tip pool.
The Department of Labor publishes the state-by-state figures on its Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees table, where Louisiana shows the federal numbers with no state entry. The mechanics of overtime on a tipped rate, dual jobs and tip pooling are covered in the tipped employee guide.
City and Parish Rates
No Louisiana city or parish sets a minimum wage for private employers, and none legally can. Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:642 bars every local governmental subdivision from establishing a minimum wage rate that a private employer would be required to pay, which removes the entire category of local ordinances that complicates payroll in other states.
The statute, titled Setting minimum wage or employee benefits; prohibited, rests on the state police power reserved by Article VI, Section 9 of the Louisiana Constitution, and it also blocks local mandates on minimum vacation and sick leave days. For an employer with sites in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport, that means one wage floor across all four.
| Jurisdiction | Rate for private employers | What actually exists there |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | $7.25, no local rate | A Living Wage Ordinance that is a condition of city contracts, not a general wage floor |
| Baton Rouge | $7.25, no local rate | No wage ordinance for private employers |
| Shreveport | $7.25, no local rate | No wage ordinance for private employers |
| Lafayette | $7.25, no local rate | No wage ordinance for private employers |
| Every other parish and municipality | $7.25, no local rate | Preempted by La. R.S. 23:642 |
The New Orleans exception is worth understanding precisely, because it is the one that gets misread. The city's Living Wage Ordinance requires covered employers to pay a living wage, published by the city at $16.01 per hour and adjusted using Consumer Price Index data, and to allow at least seven days a year of compensated leave. It attaches to city contract work rather than to private employment generally. A New Orleans restaurant or retailer with no city contract is not covered by it, and pays the same $7.25 floor as everyone else.
Industry Carve-Outs
Louisiana has no industry-specific minimum wage carve-outs, because it has no state minimum wage law to carve out of. There is no Louisiana fast food wage council, no healthcare worker wage schedule, and no separate agricultural state rate. Employers in every industry work from the same federal rules.
The exemptions that do apply are the federal ones under the FLSA, and they are exemptions from coverage rather than lower Louisiana rates. A farm that did not use more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year falls outside the federal minimum wage requirement, as do certain seasonal amusement and recreational establishments and some small newspapers. These are narrow, they turn on specific tests, and misapplying one is a common source of back wage liability.
Separately, exempt status under the white collar rules removes an employee from the minimum wage and overtime requirements entirely, which is a different question from the hourly floor. Whether a role qualifies is decided by duties and salary basis, not by job title, and it is worth reading exempt versus non-exempt before classifying anyone. Overtime obligations follow the FLSA in Louisiana as well, since the state has no overtime statute.
Youth and Training Wages
Louisiana sets no youth wage and no training wage. The only reduced rate available is the federal youth opportunity wage of $4.25 per hour, which applies to employees under 20 years old during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with that employer.
| Reduced rate | Amount | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Youth opportunity wage | $4.25 per hour | Under 20 years old, first 90 consecutive calendar days with the employer |
| Full-time student program | 85 percent of $7.25 | Retail, service, agriculture or higher education, DOL certificate required |
| Student learner program | 75 percent of $7.25 | Vocational education student in a bona fide program, DOL certificate required |
| Section 14(c) certificate | Below $7.25, individually set | Workers with disabilities, DOL certificate required, program remains in effect |
| Louisiana youth or training wage | None | The state sets no reduced rate of its own |
Two details cause most of the errors here. The 90 days are calendar days counted continuously from the hire date, not days actually worked, so a seasonal employee working two shifts a week still runs the clock down at the same speed. And an employer may not displace an existing employee, including by cutting hours, in order to hire someone at the youth rate.
The subminimum rates below the youth wage all require an application and a certificate issued by the Department of Labor in advance. Paying them without the certificate is simply underpayment. Louisiana's own rules for minors govern permits and working hours rather than pay, and those sit alongside the federal child labor rules rather than replacing them.
The Poster Requirement
Louisiana employers must display the federal FLSA poster, titled Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and numbered WH-1088. There is no Louisiana minimum wage poster, because there is no state rate to publish.
The requirement comes from 29 CFR 516.4, which directs every employer with employees subject to the Act to post a notice explaining it in a conspicuous place in all establishments, where employees can readily read it. The Department of Labor supplies the poster free to download and print, so buying a laminated compliance kit is optional rather than required. The poster carries the current $7.25 figure on its face, which is one reason a wage increase always triggers a poster replacement.
Louisiana adds its own required state postings through the Louisiana Workforce Commission, covering areas such as workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and pregnancy rights. Those are listed in the state compliance guide. For remote employees who never report to a worksite, distribute the poster electronically in a place they can reach at any time, and keep the physical posting for anyone who does report in.
How Louisiana Lines Up With the Federal Floor
Louisiana sits exactly on the federal floor, which is the simplest of the three possible relationships a state can have with it. Where a state rate exists and is higher, the higher one wins. Where a state rate exists and is lower, the federal one wins. Louisiana has no state rate at all, so $7.25 applies without any comparison to run.
That federal figure has been fixed since July 24, 2009, which is the longest gap between increases in the record the Department of Labor keeps of changes to the minimum wage law. The full federal picture, including that history and the state-by-state comparison, lives on the federal minimum wage page rather than here.
One practical note for growing employers. The moment you hire someone outside the state, this simplicity ends, because neighboring states do not all sit in the same position and multi-state payroll has to apply each state's own floor to the employees who work there. Louisiana hiring mechanics are covered in the Louisiana hiring guide.
What to Do When the Floor Moves
When a wage floor rises, four things have to happen before the first affected payroll run, and doing them in order prevents the usual mistakes. The sequence below applies whether the change comes from Congress or from a first Louisiana state rate.
Two checks belong in the same pass. Confirm that overtime is recalculating from the new regular rate, since a corrected base rate that does not flow into overtime produces a second underpayment on top of the first. And confirm that any employee you treat as exempt still clears the salary threshold, which moves independently of the hourly floor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Louisiana?
$7.25 per hour. Louisiana has never enacted a state minimum wage law, so covered employers pay the federal floor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Department of Labor lists Louisiana with Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee as the five states with no state minimum wage law. The rate took effect on July 24, 2009. Because there is no state rate, no Louisiana agency publishes an annual wage adjustment for private employers.
Is a Louisiana minimum wage increase scheduled?
No increase is scheduled. There is no state rate to raise, and the federal $7.25 moves only when Congress passes a bill that is signed into law. Bills creating a Louisiana state minimum wage are filed in most legislative sessions, including a House bill in the 2026 Regular Session proposing $12 per hour, and none has been enacted. Treat any proposal as a proposal until it appears in the Revised Statutes.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Louisiana?
The cash wage is $2.13 per hour and the maximum tip credit is $5.12, both federal figures, since Louisiana has no tip credit statute of its own. A tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. Cash wages plus tips must reach $7.25 per hour in each workweek or the employer pays the difference for that week. Notice to the employee and retention of tips are conditions of taking the credit.
Do any Louisiana cities or parishes have their own minimum wage?
No. La. R.S. 23:642 prohibits local governmental subdivisions from setting a minimum wage rate that a private employer would have to pay, so no parish or municipal rate exists. New Orleans has a Living Wage Ordinance, but it operates as a condition on city contract work rather than as a general wage floor, and a private employer without a city contract is not covered by it.
Does Louisiana have a youth or training wage?
Not of its own. The federal youth opportunity wage of $4.25 per hour applies to employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer. Those are calendar days counted from the hire date, not days worked, and no existing employee may be displaced to make room for a youth-rate hire. Full-time student and student learner rates require a certificate issued by the Department of Labor before they are used.
Which minimum wage poster do Louisiana employers have to display?
The federal poster WH-1088, Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 29 CFR 516.4 requires it to be posted conspicuously where employees can readily read it, and the Department of Labor provides it free. Louisiana publishes no state minimum wage poster because it has no state rate, though the Louisiana Workforce Commission requires several other state postings that apply to your workplace.