AL · state labor law, 2026
Alabama labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Alabama writes almost no wage rules of its own and forbids its cities from writing any, so a worker there lives under the federal floor.
Alabama and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $7.25/h
- federal floor applies
- Next change
- none announced
- checked October 11, 2026
- Tipped cash wage
- $2.13/h
- tips must make up the rest
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- federal FLSA rule
- Paid sick leave
- no state law
- employer policy
- Paid family leave
- no program
- FMLA is unpaid
Alabama has no minimum wage statute, which leaves the federal Fair Labor Standards Act as the only floor: $7.25 an hour for covered employers in 2026, or $15,080 for a full year at 40 hours a week. Tipped employees can receive a cash wage of $2.13 as long as tips lift them to $7.25. Overtime also comes from federal law, time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, and the salary line for exempt managers is the federal $684 a week. The state requires no paid sick days, no paid family leave and no breaks for adults. A section of the Alabama Code goes further and voids any city or county ordinance on wages, leave or benefits, so Birmingham or Montgomery cannot add a local rate. The right to work sits in the state constitution, and the Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act bans unequal pay by sex or race for equal work.
Gross pay for this week in Alabama
$290
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week (federal rule)
| Minimum wage in Alabama now | $7.25 an hour (federal floor) |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | No statewide paid sick leave law |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | None for adults (minors only) |
| Final paycheck if fired | no state statute sets a deadline (federal law sets none either) |
| Unused vacation at the end | No state rule: the employer policy decides |
| Paid family leave | No state program |
40 hours a week at $7.25. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
A state that leaves the field to Washington
Alabama belongs to the short group of states with no general minimum wage law on the books. The practical result is that an Alabama paycheck is governed by the FLSA, enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division rather than by a state office. The Alabama Department of Workforce says so itself: questions on pay, unpaid wages, breaks and vacation are sent to the federal agency. A business too small to be covered by the FLSA has no legal wage floor at all, which is rare but possible for a very local firm with no interstate activity.
The Legislature also shut the door on local action. Section 25-7-45 of the Code states that it occupies the entire field of wages, leave and employment benefits, and any contrary ordinance has no force. That is why no Alabama city appears in our list of city minimum wages.
Tipped jobs at $2.13 an hour
Restaurants may use the full federal tip credit. A server who averages $3 an hour in tips earns $5.13 from cash wage plus tips, so the employer must add $2.12 for every hour that week to reach $7.25. Over a 30-hour week that top-up is $64. The test runs week by week, and tips belong to the worker unless a valid pool is in place. Try your own tip average below.
Do your tips cover the minimum wage?
Employer top-up owed per hour
$1.12
| Cash wage | $2.13 |
| Cash wage + tips | $6.13 |
| Minimum wage in Alabama | $7.25 |
| Top-up over a 30-hour week | $34 |
Overtime with no state layer
With no Alabama overtime statute, the weekly federal threshold is the whole rule. A forklift driver paid $16 an hour who works five 9-hour days logs 45 hours, and the federal method gives 5 hours at time and a half, for a weekly total of $760. A 10-hour day followed by short days creates no premium as long as the week stays at or under 40 hours. Salaried staff are exempt only if they pass the federal duties test and earn at least $684 a week; the exempt versus non-exempt guide explains the duties side.
Leave, breaks and the last paycheck
Paid time off is a matter of company policy in Alabama. Unpaid, job-protected leave can still come from the federal FMLA if your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles and you have worked 1,250 hours in the past year. Adults have no state right to a meal or rest break; the only break rule in the Code protects 14- and 15-year-olds, who need a documented 30-minute pause after more than five continuous hours.
No statute sets a deadline for final wages or forces payout of unused vacation, so the employer's written policy and the next regular payday are what most workers rely on. When pay is missing, a complaint goes to the federal Wage and Hour Division, and an employment lawyer can look at whether a contract claim exists under state law.
Equal pay and the wage history question
Alabama does have one modern pay statute. The Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act of 2019 forbids paying a worker less than a colleague of another sex or race for equal work, and it bars an employer from refusing to interview or hire someone who declines to share past salaries. Read with right-to-work rules, it is one of the few state-level protections an Alabama employee can invoke.
Alabama employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 24, 2009 | Statewide (federal minimum wage) | $7.25 | Alabama has no state minimum wage law; the federal FLSA minimum applies to covered employers. |
Alabama has no state rate above the federal floor, so employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act pay at least $7.25 an hour. No state youth or training wage; federal rules (e.g. $4.25 youth opportunity wage for first 90 days under age 20) apply. State law preempts local minimum wage ordinances (Ala. Code 25-7-45). Read the Alabama rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. Alabama Department of Workforce refers hours-worked and federal wage-hour questions to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. source
Sick leave and family leave
Alabama has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; leave depends on the employer's policy or a city ordinance. No state paid sick leave law; local paid-leave mandates are preempted by Ala. Code 25-7-45. source
No state paid family leave insurance: the federal FMLA gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. source
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: no state statute sets a deadline (federal law sets none either). Quitting: no state statute sets a deadline (federal law sets none either). Vacation: No state law requires payout of accrued vacation; follows employer policy or contract.. source vacation rule
Meal and rest breaks
No meal break is required for adults by state law. No paid rest break is required for adults. 14- and 15-year-olds: a documented 30-minute meal or rest period after more than 5 continuous hours (Ala. Code 25-8-38(e)). source
Unions and dismissal
Alabama is a right-to-work state: a union contract cannot require you to pay dues or fees to keep your job. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract. source
Also worth knowing in Alabama
- Alabama's Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act (2019) bans pay gaps based on sex or race for equal work and bars employers from refusing to interview or hire an applicant who declines to give wage history. source
- Cities and counties cannot set their own minimum wage or paid leave rules: state law reserves all regulation of wages, leave and employment benefits to the Legislature and voids contrary local ordinances. source