The Georgia minimum wage is $5.15 per hour under state law, but almost every worker in the state is actually entitled to at least $7.25 per hour because federal law sets a higher floor and overrides the state rate.1U.S. Department of Labor. Changes in Basic Minimum Wages in Non-Farm Employment Under State Law: Selected Years 1968 to 2024 Georgia is one of only two states with a state minimum below the federal rate, and the $5.15 figure has not changed since 2001.
What You Will Actually Be Paid
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay the higher of the state or federal minimum wage.2United States Code, 2011 Edition. 29 U.S.C. Chapter 8 – Fair Labor Standards – Section 218 Relation to Other Laws Since the federal rate has been $7.25 since July 2009, that is what applies to any worker covered by federal law.3U.S. Department of Labor. History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 – 2009 Georgia’s own statute recognizes this, saying the state chapter does not apply to any employer already subject to a federal minimum wage law that sets a higher rate.4Justia. Georgia Code 34-4-3 – Amount of Minimum Wage to Be Paid by Employers; Employers and Employees Covered by Chapter
Federal coverage is broad. It reaches any business with at least two employees and annual sales of $500,000 or more, plus hospitals, schools, and government agencies regardless of revenue.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #14: Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) It also reaches individual employees whose work touches interstate commerce, which can be as routine as processing credit card payments, sending email to someone out of state, or handling goods that crossed a state line. Almost every modern workplace meets one of these tests, so almost every Georgia worker is entitled to $7.25.
Who Can Legally Be Paid $5.15
The $5.15 state rate applies only to a narrow group: employers who fall outside federal coverage and who have more than five employees and gross sales above $40,000 per year. Employers at or below either of those thresholds are exempt from the state minimum wage entirely.4Justia. Georgia Code 34-4-3 – Amount of Minimum Wage to Be Paid by Employers; Employers and Employees Covered by Chapter
Several categories of workers are excluded from Georgia’s minimum wage protections regardless of employer size:
- Workers employed in private households
- Employees of farm owners, sharecroppers, or land renters
- Newspaper carriers
- High school and college students
- Employees of nonprofit child-caring institutions or long-term care facilities who live on-site, receive free room and board, and earn at least $10,000 per year in cash
When a worker in one of these categories also lacks federal coverage, no minimum wage law applies and pay becomes a matter of private agreement. That situation is uncommon, because any activity that touches interstate commerce can pull the employer back under the federal $7.25 rate.
Tipped Workers
Georgia’s statute says nothing about tipped employees, so federal rules govern. An employer can pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour and claim a tip credit of up to $5.12, as long as tips bring the worker’s total hourly pay to at least $7.25.6U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees This applies to workers who regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips, which covers most servers, bartenders, and similar jobs.
If tips plus the $2.13 cash wage do not reach $7.25 in a given workweek, the employer has to make up the difference. Pocketing employee tips or failing to track them accurately exposes the employer to back pay and liquidated damages under federal law.
Workers Under 20
Federal law allows a reduced wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act The clock counts every calendar day from the first day of work, not just days actually worked. Once 90 days pass or the employee turns 20, whichever happens first, pay must rise to at least $7.25. This federal rate applies in Georgia the same way it does everywhere else, and the lower state rate cannot be used to pay a youth worker less than $4.25.
Overtime
Georgia has no private-sector overtime law, so the FLSA controls. Employers must pay one and a half times the regular rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Salaried workers performing executive, administrative, or professional duties are exempt if they earn at least $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. The Department of Labor tried to raise that threshold in 2024, but a federal court vacated the rule, and the $684 level set in 2019 is still being enforced.8U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption from Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections Under the FLSA If you earn less than $684 per week and do not fit another exempt category, you are owed overtime no matter what your job title says.
Cities and Counties Cannot Set a Higher Rate
Georgia law bars any city, county, or local government from requiring higher wages than state or federal law provides.9Justia. Georgia Code 34-4-3.1 – Preemption of Wage or Employment Benefit Mandates An Atlanta or Savannah ordinance setting a $15 minimum wage would be unenforceable. The only path to a higher floor runs through the Georgia General Assembly, and no bill raising the rate has passed since 2001. House Bill 394, introduced in the 2025–2026 session, would raise the state minimum to $15.00 per hour, but as of this writing it has not passed.10Georgia General Assembly. House Bill 394 (2025-2026 Session)
If You Are Being Underpaid
Georgia does not run its own enforcement system for wage complaints.11Georgia Department of Labor. Obtain Information About an Employment Issue For workers covered by federal law, which is most workers, two options are available:
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The agency can investigate, order back pay, and sometimes sue on your behalf. The deadline is two years from the violation, or three years if it was intentional.12U.S. Department of Labor. Back Pay
- Sue your employer directly for unpaid wages, liquidated damages equal to the unpaid amount, attorney’s fees, and court costs.
For the small group of workers covered only by the state rate, Georgia law allows a civil suit in superior court within three years. A successful plaintiff can recover the difference between what was paid and $5.15, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.13Justia. Georgia Code 34-4-6 – Action to Recover Difference Where Employee Paid Less Than Minimum Wage
Keep your own record of hours worked and wages received. If you are not sure whether state or federal law covers your job, the Wage and Hour Division can determine coverage when you file a complaint.