Minimum Wage $12.00+ / HR
Nevada's minimum wage reached $12.00 per hour as of July 1, 2024 and is subject to incremental annual increases under Nevada law. Whatever the current rate is when you work, your employer must pay you at least that amount for every hour on the job. Nevada eliminated its old two-tier wage system, so there is now one rate that applies to all workers regardless of whether their employer offers health benefits.
Nevada does not allow a tip credit. Your employer cannot count your tips toward satisfying the minimum wage. Tips belong to you on top of your full hourly rate. This is a strong protection for service workers in a state with a large hospitality industry. If your employer has been paying you a lower base wage because of tips, they owe you the difference for every hour worked.
Nevada also requires employers to furnish uniforms, accessories, and special apparel at no cost to the employee. If your employer has required you to purchase a uniform that is distinctive in style, color, or material, that cost should have been covered by the employer. Any deduction from your paycheck to cover the cost of a required uniform is a wage violation.
Overtime Laws DAILY + WEEKLY
Nevada calculates overtime both daily and weekly, which puts it ahead of federal law. Under NRS 608.018, if you earn less than 1.5 times the state minimum wage (currently below $18.00 per hour), you must be paid 1.5 times your regular rate whenever you work more than 8 hours in a single workday or more than 40 hours in a week. Whichever threshold you hit first triggers overtime. A long shift can generate overtime pay even in a week where your total hours stay under 40.
For workers earning $18.00 per hour or more, the daily overtime trigger does not apply. Those workers are entitled to overtime only after 40 hours in a workweek. However, the 8-hour daily threshold still applies to all workers earning below that wage level, which covers a significant portion of Nevada's workforce in hospitality, food service, retail, and service industries.
There is one exception to the daily overtime rule. By mutual agreement between an employer and employee, a schedule of four 10-hour days in a workweek can be set in advance. Under that arrangement, no daily overtime is triggered on the 10-hour days. That agreement must be voluntary and arranged before the work is performed. An employer cannot impose a 4-10s schedule on you after the fact to avoid paying daily overtime you have already earned.
Salary alone does not exempt you from overtime. To qualify as exempt, an employee must both earn at least $844 per week under federal FLSA standards and meet specific job duties tests for executive, administrative, professional, or other recognized exemption categories. Job title is not enough. Many workers in Nevada are incorrectly classified as exempt and are owed overtime they have never been paid.
Meal & Rest Breaks MANDATED
Nevada requires both meal periods and paid rest breaks under NRS 608.019. If you work a continuous period of 8 hours, your employer must allow you at least 30 minutes for a meal. That meal period can be paid or unpaid, but it must be uninterrupted. If you were required to work through what should have been your meal period, that time is compensable.
For paid rest breaks, you are entitled to 10 minutes of paid rest for every 4 hours worked, or major fraction thereof. Workers who clock fewer than 3.5 hours in a shift are not entitled to a rest break. Rest periods must be counted as hours worked and cannot be deducted from your pay. Your employer cannot require you to remain on call or perform any work duties during a rest break.
Break requirements do not apply where only one person is employed at a location, or to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides otherwise. An employee may voluntarily agree to skip a meal or rest period, but the employer carries the burden of proving that any waiver was genuinely voluntary.
Final Pay & Wage Protections NV SPECIFIC
When an employer discharges you or places you on nonworking status, your wages become due and payable immediately under NRS 608.020. If the employer fails to pay within 3 days of when those wages became due, Nevada law imposes a penalty. Your wages continue to accrue at the same daily rate until they are paid in full, for up to 30 days. If you were owed $200 per day in wages when you were fired, and your employer waited 10 days to pay, they may owe you an additional $2,000 in penalties on top of the base wages.
If you resigned or quit, your final wages must be paid no later than the next regular payday or within 7 days, whichever comes first. The employer cannot delay your final check because you gave short notice or because they claim you owe them money for equipment or other items.
Nevada also has strict rules about wage reductions and deductions. An employer must give you written notice of any pay cut at least 7 days before you perform work at the reduced rate. A pay decrease cannot be applied retroactively. Any deduction beyond required taxes and employee-authorized benefits requires a specific written authorization from you for a particular purpose, pay period, and amount. Nevada law specifically prohibits blanket authorizations that allow an employer to deduct any amount at their discretion.
Wages must be paid at least semi-monthly. Every employer must post and maintain notice of regular paydays and the place of payment. Any change to the payday schedule requires at least 7 days advance written notice to affected employees.
Paid Leave NV SPECIFIC
Nevada requires private employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid leave under NRS 608.0197. You accrue 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour you work, which comes to approximately 40 hours per year for a full-time employee. This leave is yours to use for any reason. You do not have to explain yourself to your employer. Medical appointments, personal errands, family obligations, or simply needing a day off all qualify.
Leave becomes available to use starting on the 90th calendar day of your employment. Accrued leave carries over from year to year, though an employer may cap the carryover at 40 hours per benefit year. Your employer can also cap the amount of leave you use per year at 40 hours. Employers are not required to pay out unused leave when you separate, unless they have a policy that says otherwise.
Your employer cannot retaliate against you for using paid leave you are entitled to. They also cannot require you to find a replacement worker as a condition of taking your leave. The law does not cover temporary, seasonal, or on-call employees, and does not apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees in Nevada.
Employee Misclassification NV STATUTE
Nevada has a specific statute prohibiting misclassification of employees as independent contractors under NRS 608.400-410. Misclassification is a wage violation in Nevada, not just a payroll classification question. Employers who misclassify workers to avoid paying overtime, minimum wage, or other benefits face administrative penalties under this law.
NRS 608.0155 sets out Nevada's framework for determining when a worker qualifies as an independent contractor. To be conclusively presumed a contractor, a person generally needs a tax identification number or social security number on file, must hold required licenses and insurance for the work, and must meet at least three out of five additional criteria covering control over the work, control over schedule, ability to work for multiple clients, ability to hire helpers, and substantial investment in their own business. Failing to meet these criteria does not automatically make someone an employee, but it opens the door to an employment relationship being found.
Misclassification is common in construction, transportation, cleaning and maintenance, and service industries in Nevada. If you have been paid as a contractor but your work is controlled by the company, your schedule is set by them, and you work primarily for that one company, you may have been misclassified. That means unpaid overtime, potentially unpaid minimum wages, and lost access to paid leave protections you should have had.
Filing a Claim ACT NOW
Under NRS 608.135, an employee has 2 years from the date of the employer's failure to pay final wages to bring a civil action. This applies specifically to discharge, layoff, and resignation pay claims. Other wage claims, including unpaid minimum wage, may have separate deadlines under different provisions of Nevada law. The clock starts on the date each violation occurred, so every week of underpayment has its own window running.
Nevada employers are required to maintain payroll records for a minimum of 2 years. Those records include gross wages, deductions, net pay, hours worked per day, and payment dates. If an employer cannot produce accurate records, that absence can support your claim. Gather what you have, including pay stubs, texts, emails about your hours, and any communications about your pay before reaching out.
It is unlawful for any person to intimidate an employee to prevent them from testifying in a wage investigation or to discharge an employee for doing so. If you have raised a wage concern and your employer has reacted negatively, document what happened and when. Retaliation for asserting wage rights is itself a violation under Nevada law.
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Labor laws change, and the specific facts of your situation may affect how the law applies to you. Minimum wage rates, thresholds, and deadlines referenced here reflect the law as sourced and may have been updated since publication. Always verify current rates and requirements with the appropriate state agency or a qualified employment attorney before taking action.
Think You May Be Owed Back Wages?
Josephson Dunlap reviews wage claims for Nevada 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.