Minimum wage varies by state and in New York it ranges from $15.00 to $16.00 per hour depending on location. In New York, restaurants are allowed to use a “tip credit”, which ranges from $5.00 to $5.35 per hour, to count towards the minimum wage that they must pay their tipped employees. In other words, they can pay their waitstaff less than minimum wage on the condition that the employees will make at least minimum wage per hour after receiving their tips from customers. In these cases, (1) the employees must be informed by the restaurant of the tip credit law (i.e. Section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act), and (2) all tips received by such employees must be retained by the employees (unless there is a valid tip pooling arrangement).
In New York, the minimum wage varies depending on the location of the restaurant and, in New York City, the size of the restaurant. The applicable minimum wage rates and tip credits are as follows:
New York City
- Full. Min. Wage Rate (as of 1/1/24)
Long Island and Westchester County
--- Full. Min. Wage Rate (as of 1/1/24
Rest of New York State
--- Full. Min. Wage Rate (as of 1/1/24)
The minimum wage rate for fast food employees is $15.00 per hour in all of New York State,
The minimum direct wage for a tipped restaurant employee in New York ranges from $10 to $10.65 per hour, depending on where the restaurant is located provided the employee is allowed to keep the tips received, and the sum of the direct wage and the tips must be equal to or greater than the applicable minimum wage rate. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour, or the applicable New York minimum wage rate, the restaurant must make up the difference.
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