Minimum Wage & Tipped Workers $7.25 / HR
Pennsylvania’s current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for covered workers. That rate is low compared with many states, but Pennsylvania is still a stronger wage-and-hour state because of its overtime rules, wage payment remedies, healthcare overtime protections, and construction misclassification rules.
Tipped employees may be paid a direct cash wage of $2.83 per hour only when the employer properly takes a tip credit. Cash wages and tips together must still bring the worker to at least $7.25 per hour. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference.
Employers also cannot use deductions, fees, shortages, uniforms, tools, or similar charges to push pay below the required minimum wage. Time spent working before clock-in, after clock-out, during required meetings, or during interrupted breaks can count as paid work time.
Overtime Laws 1.5X RATE
Most non-exempt Pennsylvania employees must be paid overtime at one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. At $7.25 per hour, the minimum overtime rate is $10.88 per hour.
Pennsylvania does not allow private employers to replace overtime pay with compensatory time off. Overtime must be paid in wages. An employer cannot avoid overtime by calling the extra hours “banked time,” “flex time,” or “future PTO.”
A salary does not automatically make a worker exempt. To qualify for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption, the employer must show qualifying duties, salary-basis pay, and a salary of at least $684 per week. Job titles alone do not decide overtime rights.
Pennsylvania also has a specific healthcare overtime option for hospitals and care facilities. If the required agreement exists, certain employers may use a 14-day, 80-hour overtime period, but overtime still applies after more than 8 hours in a day or more than 80 hours in the 14-day period.
Act 102: Healthcare Overtime PA SPECIFIC
Pennsylvania’s Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act, often called Act 102, protects certain healthcare workers from being forced to work beyond their agreed-to, predetermined, and regularly scheduled shifts.
The law generally covers employees of healthcare facilities who provide direct patient care or clinical care services. It does not stop workers from volunteering for overtime, but it restricts mandatory overtime except in narrow circumstances such as on-call time, unforeseeable emergencies, or finishing a patient-care procedure already in progress.
Act 102 also protects workers from retaliation for refusing mandatory overtime that the law prohibits. If forced overtime is paired with unpaid overtime, interrupted breaks, or off-the-clock charting, the issue can become both a healthcare labor violation and a wage claim.
Wage Payment & Liquidated Damages WPCL REMEDIES
Pennsylvania’s Wage Payment and Collection Law is one of the reasons the state is stronger for wage claims. The law requires employers to pay wages on time and according to the rate and schedule communicated to the employee.
When wages remain unpaid beyond the statutory waiting period and there is no good-faith dispute, workers may be able to claim liquidated damages equal to 25% of the wages due or $500, whichever is greater. That can make smaller unpaid-wage claims more serious for employers.
The WPCL can cover earned wages and, depending on the facts and agreement, commissions, bonuses, fringe benefits, vacation pay, or other promised compensation. It also gives workers a state-law path when the issue is not limited to minimum wage or overtime.
Employee Misclassification PA ADVANTAGE
Pennsylvania workers can be misclassified in two common ways: being treated as an independent contractor instead of an employee, or being paid a salary and labeled exempt from overtime when the actual job duties do not qualify.
For construction workers, Pennsylvania’s Construction Workplace Misclassification Act creates a stricter state-specific rule. A construction worker generally cannot be treated as an independent contractor unless the worker has a written contract, is free from control or direction over the work, and is customarily engaged in an independently established trade or business.
A 1099 form, contractor agreement, or manager title does not end the analysis. If the employer controls the work in practice, supplies the work, sets the schedule, or relies on the worker as part of the core business, the worker may be owed wages and overtime as an employee.
Filing a Claim 2-3 YEARS
Pennsylvania workers may have state wage claims, federal FLSA claims, or both. Pennsylvania minimum wage and overtime complaints should generally be filed within two years from when the work was performed. FLSA claims also usually have a two-year window, extended to three years for willful violations.
Some Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law claims have a three-year limitations period from when the wages were due and payable. That difference matters because the strongest claim may depend on whether the worker is seeking minimum wage, overtime, commissions, bonuses, vacation pay, or other earned compensation.
Employers are generally required to keep payroll records for three years. Pay stubs, schedules, time records, text messages, emails, tip records, commission plans, and notes about off-the-clock work can all help prove what was worked and what was paid.
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Josephson Dunlap LLP. Wage and hour laws vary by state, and the application of these laws depends on the specific facts of each situation. The figures and information cited above are current as of the date of publication and are subject to change. Prior results in other matters do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. If you believe your wages were not paid correctly, consult a qualified, licensed employment attorney.
Think You May Be Owed Back Wages?
Josephson Dunlap reviews wage claims for Pennsylvania workers at no cost. There is no fee unless wages are recovered. A case manager will go through your situation and tell you where you stand.