West Virginia rules on employee overtime, wage and hour law, and fair pay.
What is the minimum wage in West Virginia?
The minimum wage in West Virginia is $8.75 per hour in 2023.
Is the minimum wage different in West Virginia for tipped employees?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows employers to pay a lower hourly minimum wage, as long as that wage plus the tips the employee earns add up to at least the full minimum wage for each hour worked. If not, the employer has to make up the difference.
In West Virginia, employers can take a tip credit of 70% of the minimum wage. This means that in 2023, employers can pay tipped employees as little as $2.62 per hour, as long as the employee's tips bring the total hourly wage up to the state minimum wage.
(For more information, see Nolo's article Tips, Tip Pooling, and Tip Credits.)
When am I entitled to earn overtime?
In West Virginia, eligible employees must receive overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. Not every type of job is eligible for overtime, however. To learn more, see Nolo's article Overtime Pay: Your Rights as an Employee and contact the West Virginia Division of Labor.
Am I entitled to a lunch or rest break?
Yes. Employees in West Virginia are entitled to a meal break of at least 20 minutes for each six consecutive hours worked, unless employees are allowed to take breaks as needed or to eat lunch while working. Rest breaks of 20 minutes or less must be counted as paid work time.
To learn more about wage and hour laws in West Virginia, contact the state Division of Labor.
What are wage and hour laws?
Wage and hour laws set the basic standards for pay and time worked, covering issues like minimum wage, tips, overtime, meal and rest breaks, what counts as time worked, when you must be paid, things your employer must pay for, and so on.
Where do wage and hour laws come from?
The federal wage and hour law is called the Fair Labor Standards Act. Most states also have their own wage and hour laws, and some local governments (like cities and counties) do, too. An employer who is subject to more than one law must follow the law that is most generous to the employee. For example, the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, but employers in states that have set a higher minimum wage must pay the higher amount.
Finding an employment law attorney
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Last updated on January 30, 2023
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