Pennsylvania labor laws set the rules for pay, hours, time off, workplace safety, and discrimination through a mix of state statutes and federal protections. The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, overtime kicks in after 40 hours in a week, your final paycheck is due on the next regular payday, and you’re protected from discrimination and retaliation on the job. The state’s biggest limitation is also its default: Pennsylvania is at-will, so unless a contract or specific law says otherwise, either side can end the employment relationship at any time.
At-Will Employment and Its Limits
Under Pennsylvania’s at-will doctrine, an employer can fire you for any reason, or no reason at all, and you can quit the same way. The exceptions are what matter. You can’t be fired for a reason that violates a specific statute, such as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, or the Family and Medical Leave Act. Courts also recognize a public policy exception: termination for refusing to break the law, for reporting illegal activity, or for exercising a legal right can support a wrongful termination claim. A written contract specifying a fixed term or requiring “just cause” overrides at-will entirely.
Minimum Wage, Tips, and Overtime
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, matching the federal floor.1U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws The state Minimum Wage Act technically sets the rate at $7.15 but automatically raises it whenever the federal rate is higher.2Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act of 1968 The federal rate has been $7.25 since 2009.
Tipped workers can be paid a lower base wage if they earn at least $135 per month in tips. If the base plus tips doesn’t reach $7.25 an hour, the employer has to make up the difference.3Department of Labor and Industry. Overtime and Tipped Worker Rules in PA If you work for tips, keep your own record of hours and tip income. It’s the evidence you’ll need if you ever have to file a wage claim.
Most hourly workers get time-and-a-half for any hours past 40 in a workweek.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Code 43 P.S. 333.104 – Minimum Wages Salaried workers in executive, administrative, or professional roles may be exempt from overtime if they earn at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year) and their duties meet specific tests. That threshold is the federal 2019 rule, still in effect after a court vacated the Department of Labor’s 2024 attempt to raise it.5U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions Highly compensated employees earning at least $107,432 per year may also be exempt.
How and When You Must Be Paid
The Wage Payment and Collection Law requires employers to set regular paydays and, at hiring, tell each employee when and where they’ll be paid, their pay rate, and the terms of any benefits.6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code – Wage Payment and Collection Law Pay schedules are typically weekly, biweekly, or semimonthly.
Whether you quit or get fired, your final paycheck is due no later than the next regular payday on which those wages would normally have been paid. You can request that it be sent by certified mail.
What Can Be Deducted
Beyond legally required withholdings like federal, state, and local taxes and Social Security, Pennsylvania limits what an employer can take out of your pay. Regulations list the categories that require your written authorization: repayment of a bona fide employer loan, retirement or thrift plan contributions, credit union or savings account payments, union dues, charitable contributions, and purchases of goods or services from the employer.7Cornell Law Institute. 34 Pa. Code 9.1 – Authorized Deductions An employer cannot unilaterally dock your pay for breakage or damaged equipment, and even an authorized deduction cannot drop your effective rate below minimum wage.
Breaks
Pennsylvania does not require employers to give meal or rest breaks to workers 18 and older.8Department of Labor and Industry. Wage FAQs Many employers offer them anyway, but the state sets no mandatory duration or frequency for adults. If any employer does offer a short rest break under 20 minutes, that time counts as paid working time.
The rules differ for younger workers. Employees ages 14 through 17 must get at least a 30-minute break after five consecutive hours of work.
Nursing Employees
Federal law fills a gap. Under the PUMP Act, employers must give nursing employees reasonable break time to express breast milk for up to one year after a child’s birth, as often as needed, plus a private space that is not a bathroom and is shielded from view and intrusion.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 218d – Breastfeeding Accommodations in the Workplace The breaks can be unpaid if the employee is fully relieved from duty. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt if compliance would cause significant difficulty or expense relative to the business’s size.
Family and Medical Leave
Pennsylvania has no state family and medical leave law. The federal FMLA applies if you’ve worked for your employer at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months, and work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 2611 – Definitions If you qualify, you can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the birth or adoption of a child, your own serious health condition, or to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
Those thresholds leave a lot of workers out, especially at smaller employers or with less than a year of tenure. If you don’t qualify under the FMLA, check whether your employer has its own policy.
Discrimination at Work
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibits workplace discrimination by employers with four or more employees. Protected characteristics include race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability, along with the use of guide or support animals by people who are blind, deaf, or have a physical disability.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Human Relations Act A 2025 amendment expanded the definition of “race” to include hair texture and protective hairstyles like locs, braids, twists, and afros.
Federal law adds protections through the EEOC, covering genetic information and specifically protecting workers 40 and older from age discrimination.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices Retaliation against anyone who reports discrimination or takes part in an investigation is illegal under both state and federal law.
Filing a Complaint
You have 180 days from the alleged discrimination to file with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Any PHRC regional office will help you draft the complaint in the correct legal format. The complaint gets served on the employer within 30 days, the employer has 60 days to respond, and a PHRC investigator takes the case. If probable cause is found, the commission tries to settle before a formal public hearing.14Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Filing a Complaint If the matter isn’t resolved within a year, you can take it to a Court of Common Pleas.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ comp is mandatory for nearly every Pennsylvania employer, and coverage starts on your first day. It pays medical bills and lost wages when a work-related injury or illness keeps you from the job.15Department of Labor and Industry. Workers’ Compensation Employers who don’t carry it face both civil lawsuits from injured workers and criminal prosecution.
A few narrow groups aren’t covered: workers already under federal compensation systems (railroad workers, longshoremen, federal employees), domestic servants, and agricultural workers who work fewer than 30 days or earn less than $1,200 per year from one employer. Certain corporate officers and people with religious objections can also request exemptions.
Unemployment Compensation
If you lose your job through no fault of your own, you may qualify for unemployment through the Department of Labor and Industry. Eligibility is based on your work history during a “base year,” generally the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file.16Department of Labor and Industry. Eligibility Information You need at least 18 credit weeks (a week in which you earned $116 or more) and must have earned at least 37% of your base-year wages outside your highest-earning quarter. The weekly benefit depends on your highest quarterly wages, maxes out at $605, and lasts up to 26 weeks. You have to remain able and available for suitable work while collecting.
Advance Notice of Mass Layoffs
Employers with 100 or more full-time workers fall under the federal WARN Act, which requires 60 days’ written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 2101 – Definitions A plant closing means a shutdown affecting 50 or more full-time employees at a single site. A mass layoff means either 500 or more employees at one site, or 50 to 499 employees if they are at least a third of the workforce there.
Rules for Workers Under 18
The Pennsylvania Child Labor Act restricts how, when, and where minors can work. Anyone under 18 needs a work permit from their school district before starting a job; the wallet-sized permit is transferable between employers and valid until the minor turns 18.18Pennsylvania Department of Education. Pennsylvania Child Labor Law
During the school term, 14- and 15-year-olds can work a maximum of eight hours per day and 28 hours during the school week (Monday through Friday), with more allowed on weekends.19Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Abstract of the Child Labor Act Hours Provisions Sixteen- and 17-year-olds have more flexibility, and those who have graduated or are exempt from compulsory school attendance face no hour restrictions.
Both state and federal law bar anyone under 18 from hazardous occupations, regardless of parental consent. The federal list includes roofing, excavation, demolition, coal mining, operating power-driven woodworking or metal-forming machines, working with explosives or radioactive materials, and meat-packing with power-driven slicing equipment.20U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Prohibited Occupations for Non-Agricultural Employees Limited exceptions exist for registered apprentice or student-learner programs in a handful of categories. Employers who violate the Child Labor Act face fines of $500 for a first offense and $1,500 for subsequent offenses.21Department of Labor and Industry. Employment of Minors Child Labor Act
Reporting a Wage Violation
If an employer has shorted your pay, missed a paycheck, or made an unauthorized deduction, you can file a wage complaint with the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance. The fastest route is the Department of Labor and Industry’s online portal.22Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. File a Wage Payment and Collection Complaint You can also download a paper form and mail it to a regional Bureau office.23Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Wage Payment Complaint
Pull your documentation together before you file. Pay stubs, timesheets, your employment agreement, and any written communications about your pay rate or schedule all strengthen the claim. Once the Bureau receives it, the agency notifies the employer and requests payroll records. If the investigation confirms a violation, the Bureau can order the employer to pay back wages plus additional damages.