Missouri’s tipped minimum wage is $7.50 per hour as of January 1, 2026, which is exactly half of the state’s $15.00 standard minimum wage. An employer can pay this reduced cash wage only when a worker’s tips bring total hourly pay up to at least $15.00. If tips fall short in any pay period, the employer has to cover the gap.1Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Tipped Employees
The $7.50 Rate and the Law Behind It
Section 290.512 of the Missouri Revised Statutes allows employers of tipped workers to pay no more than 50 percent of the standard minimum wage in direct cash, provided the worker’s cash plus tips reaches the full minimum.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code Chapter 290 – Section 290-512 Section 290.502 sets that standard minimum wage, which climbed to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 290.502 – Minimum Wage Rate
So the arithmetic is simple. The employer pays at least $7.50 per hour. The worker’s tips are expected to cover the other $7.50. The $15.00 figure is the floor the worker must actually receive for every hour on the clock.
Who Counts as a Tipped Employee
Missouri’s statute covers any worker who “receives and retains compensation in the form of gratuities in addition to wages.”2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code Chapter 290 – Section 290-512 Federal law adds a floor: a tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 203 – Definitions
In practice, that means servers, bartenders, valets, and hotel bellhops. Cooks, dishwashers, janitors, and office staff don’t qualify, because tipping isn’t a regular part of those jobs. An employer can’t simply label a position tipped to save on wages; the role itself has to be one where gratuities are a normal part of pay.
Notice Before the Tip Credit Can Be Used
The gap between the $7.50 cash wage and the $15.00 minimum is called the tip credit. Before claiming it, the employer has to tell each affected worker four things: the cash wage being paid, the amount of the tip credit being claimed, that the employee keeps all tips except through a valid tip pool, and that the tip credit disappears entirely if the employer fails to give the notice.5eCFR. 29 CFR 531.59 – The Tip Wage Credit Notice can be oral or written. Written notice protects both sides if a dispute ever comes up.
When Tips Fall Short
If cash wages plus tips don’t reach $15.00 per hour for a given pay period, the employer owes the difference. There is no exception.1Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Tipped Employees
An example makes it concrete. A server works a slow week and averages $5.00 per hour in tips. The employer paid $7.50 in cash wages, so total pay is $12.50 per hour. The employer owes another $2.50 per hour to close the gap to $15.00. Tip income swings from shift to shift, and payroll departments often miss these shortfalls when they don’t audit tip records against hours worked.
Overtime Pay for Tipped Workers
Federal law requires overtime at one-and-a-half times the regular rate for any hours past 40 in a workweek, and this applies to tipped employees. The base for the calculation is the full $15.00 minimum wage, not the reduced cash wage.
- Multiply the full minimum wage by 1.5: $15.00 × 1.5 = $22.50.
- Subtract the tip credit: $22.50 − $7.50 = $15.00.
- The employer owes at least $15.00 per hour in cash for every overtime hour, with tips still expected to make up the rest.
During overtime hours, in other words, the cash wage the employer has to actually hand over doubles. A tipped worker on the clock for 45 hours in a week earns $7.50 cash for the first 40 hours and $15.00 cash for each of the five overtime hours.
Tip Pools and the Rule About Managers
Tip pooling, where workers share part of their tips, is legal in Missouri. The rules change depending on whether the employer takes the tip credit.
When the employer uses the tip credit and pays $7.50 per hour, the pool can only include employees who customarily receive tips, such as servers and bartenders.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 203 – Definitions When the employer pays the full $15.00 and skips the tip credit entirely, back-of-house workers like cooks and dishwashers can be added to the pool.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
One rule holds in every setup: managers, supervisors, and owners cannot take any portion of pooled tips. They can only keep tips received directly and solely from a customer for service they personally provided, and only if that tip never went into a shared container.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #15B: Managers and Supervisors Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Tips
Service Charges Are Not Tips
An automatic gratuity added to a large party’s check, a mandatory service fee, or a delivery surcharge is not a tip under federal or Missouri law. Tips are voluntary; the customer decides. A mandatory charge belongs to the business, even when the bill labels it a “gratuity.”
Two consequences follow. Service-charge money cannot count toward the tip credit, so a restaurant that adds an automatic 20 percent charge for large parties still owes the tipped minimum wage separately. And if the employer distributes that service-charge revenue to employees, those payments are regular wages with normal payroll tax withholding, not tips the employee reports on their own.
If Your Employer Isn’t Paying You Correctly
You can file a complaint with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The Division of Labor Standards investigates minimum wage violations and can determine back wages based on the difference between what you actually received and the $15.00 minimum.8Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. File a Minimum Wage Complaint
A private lawsuit is also an option. Under Section 290.527, an employer who pays less than the required minimum wage is liable for the unpaid wages plus an additional amount equal to twice those unpaid wages as liquidated damages, and the court can award reasonable attorney fees and costs.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 290.527 – Action for Underpayment of Wages, Employee May Bring If an employer shorted you $500, the total recovery could reach $1,500 before attorney fees. Claims must be filed within two years of the violation, so detailed records of hours worked and tips received make a real difference if you ever need them.