The Wyoming minimum wage is $5.15 per hour under state law, but nearly every worker in the state is entitled to at least the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour because the Fair Labor Standards Act covers most employers and, when both rates apply, the higher one wins. The $5.15 figure realistically reaches only small, purely local operations with no interstate activity.
Which Rate Actually Applies to Your Job
The state rate is set at $5.15 per hour by Wyo. Stat. § 27-4-202.1Justia. Wyoming Code 27-4-202 – Minimum Wage Rates Federal law reaches further. Any business with at least $500,000 in annual gross sales is a covered enterprise under the FLSA and must pay $7.25 per hour.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 27 – New Businesses Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Even workers at smaller businesses are often individually covered if their duties involve interstate commerce. Handling credit card transactions, making phone calls across state lines, or receiving goods shipped from other states all count.3U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wage So the practical question is not “what does Wyoming set?” but “does the FLSA reach my employer or my work?” For most jobs, it does.
Tipped Employees
If you regularly earn more than $30 a month in tips, your employer can pay a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 15 – Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Wyoming does not set its own tipped rate; the federal rule controls. The $5.12 gap between $2.13 and $7.25 is the tip credit, and your tips are expected to fill it.
Here is the protection that matters. If your tips plus $2.13 don’t reach $7.25 for every hour worked, your employer has to make up the shortfall.5U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees The calculation runs workweek by workweek, not across a whole pay period. A slow Monday in one week is not cancelled out by a strong Friday in the next.
Training Wage for Workers Under 20
Workers under 20 can be paid a training wage of $4.25 per hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job, under both state and federal law. On the 91st day, or when you turn 20, whichever comes first, the pay must rise to at least $7.25 if your employer is covered by the FLSA. Employers are not allowed to fire or cut hours of existing employees to bring on someone at the training rate.
Workers Exempt From the State Minimum
Wyoming’s Minimum Wage Act, under Wyo. Stat. § 27-4-201, does not treat the following as “employees” for state minimum wage purposes:6Justia. Wyoming Code 27-4-201 – Definitions
- Agricultural workers in farming, ranching, or related work.
- Domestic service workers in a private home.
- Executive, administrative, and professional employees meeting duties and pay thresholds.
- Federal, state, county, and municipal government employees.
- Workers for educational, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organizations where no true employment relationship exists or the work is voluntary.
- Outside salespeople paid solely by commission who work away from the employer’s place of business.
- On-call ambulance and vehicle drivers.
Being exempt from the state minimum doesn’t automatically mean you have no wage floor. The federal FLSA has its own, narrower exemption rules, and many workers left out of the state definition are still covered federally. The white-collar exemption under federal law requires a salary of at least $684 per week, or $35,568 per year, plus specific job duties.7U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions If you’re paid less than that, or your work is mostly routine rather than managerial, the exemption likely doesn’t fit and you’re owed at least $7.25 plus overtime.
Overtime
Wyoming has no state overtime statute. Federal law fills the space. Covered employees get one and a half times their regular rate for every hour past 40 in a workweek. A $10-per-hour worker earns $15 for each overtime hour. If your employer isn’t covered by the FLSA at all, no law requires overtime; the employer simply owes the agreed straight-time rate no matter how many hours you work.
Meal and Rest Breaks
Neither Wyoming law nor federal law requires employers to provide meal or rest breaks to adult employees. If breaks are offered, the FLSA sets the pay rules. Short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes must be paid. Meal breaks of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid only if you’re fully relieved of duties during that time. Being expected to answer phones or stay at your workstation during lunch means the time should be paid.
Pay Frequency and Final Paychecks
In certain industries, including railroads, mines, refineries, oil and gas operations, factories, mills, and workshops, Wyoming requires pay at least twice a month. Wages earned in the first half of the month are due by the first of the following month; wages earned in the second half are due by the 15th.8FindLaw. Wyoming Code 27-4-101 – Payment of Wages
When you quit or are fired, your employer has five working days to pay all wages owed. The employer can subtract amounts you legitimately owe, but only sums that came up during your employment. Missing that five-day window is itself a wage violation you can pursue.
If You’ve Been Underpaid
You can file a wage claim through the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services using its online portal. The form asks for pay stubs, records of hours worked, the employer’s contact information, the dates for which you’re claiming unpaid wages, and the total amount owed.9Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Wage Claim Keep your own log of hours even when your employer tracks time electronically. Those personal records can be decisive if the employer’s records go missing or get altered.
You have two years from the date wages were due to file.9Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Wage Claim After that, the Department cannot pursue recovery for you. Once a claim comes in, an investigator reviews the evidence and contacts the employer. A valid claim can result in an order to pay the full unpaid amount plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, effectively doubling the recovery.
Retaliation Is Illegal
Wyoming law prohibits firing, disciplining, harassing, or discriminating against an employee for filing a wage claim, participating in an investigation, or testifying in a wage proceeding.10Justia. Wyoming Code 27-4-502 – Claims for Unpaid Wages An employer who retaliates can be ordered to reinstate you, pay lost wages, and pay an equal amount as liquidated damages. The statute authorizes both legal and equitable relief, so a court can shape whatever remedy is needed to make you whole.