ID · state labor law, 2026
Idaho labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Idaho matches the federal wage floor, bars cities from going higher and gives departing workers a written shortcut to their last paycheck.
Idaho and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $7.25/h
- statewide
- Next change
- none announced
- checked October 11, 2026
- Tipped cash wage
- $3.35/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
Idaho's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in 2026, the same as the federal floor, and no increase has been announced for 2027, so a 40-hour job at that rate grosses $15,080 a year. Boise, Coeur d'Alene and every other city or county are barred by statute from setting a higher rate. Tipped employees must receive at least $3.35 in cash, which limits the tip credit to $3.90 an hour, and the employer owes the difference whenever tips fall short. Workers under 20 can be paid $4.25 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days. When a job ends, wages are due by the next regular payday or within 10 days, weekends and holidays excluded, whichever comes first, and a written request shortens that to 48 hours. Federal rules govern overtime, and Idaho is a right-to-work state, so union membership cannot be a condition of employment.
Gross pay for this week in Idaho
$290
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week (federal rule)
| Minimum wage in Idaho now | $7.25 an hour |
| 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 required for adults |
| Final paycheck if fired | by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded); within 48 hours of a written request |
| Unused vacation at the end | Paid out if the employer policy or contract says so |
| 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 letter that speeds up the last paycheck
Idaho Code 45-606 sets two clocks for the final wages of someone laid off, fired or leaving. The default is the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or ten days after the separation, not counting weekends and holidays. The second clock is in the worker's hands: a written request for earlier payment obliges the employer to pay everything then due within 48 hours, again leaving out weekends and holidays. A line cook whose last shift falls on a Thursday and who hands in a dated note that afternoon should see the money by Monday afternoon, later if a holiday intervenes, rather than waiting for a payday two weeks out. Keep a copy of the note, since the date it reached the employer starts the count.
Unused vacation is a different matter. No Idaho statute requires it to be paid out, so the employer's written policy or your agreement decides whether those hours appear on the final check.
Is your unused PTO paid out?
Idaho: payout
Depends on the written policy
| Value of the balance | $880 |
| When it is due | by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded); within 48 hours of a written request |
One wage for the whole state
The minimum wage statute forbids any political subdivision from setting a higher rate by ordinance or other action, so $7.25 holds in Ketchum as it does in Pocatello. Tipped workers fare better than the federal minimum would give them: the cash wage of $3.35 means the employer may count $3.90 of tips per hour, against $5.12 under federal law. A server averaging $3 an hour in tips falls short of $7.25, and the restaurant must add $0.90 for each hour worked.
Idaho writes its own training wage into the code: employees younger than 20 can start at $4.25 for their first 90 consecutive calendar days, and an employer may not let go of other staff to make room for them. A 17-year-old stocking shelves 30 hours a week earns about $1,170 less over those 90 days than at the full rate.
Do your tips cover the minimum wage?
Employer top-up owed per hour
$0.00
| Cash wage | $3.35 |
| Cash wage + tips | $7.35 |
| Minimum wage in Idaho | $7.25 |
| Top-up over a 30-hour week | $0 |
Overtime and breaks follow federal law
We found no overtime rule in the Idaho wage statutes, so the Fair Labor Standards Act sets the terms for covered employers: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, nothing for long single days. A warehouse loader at $18 an hour working five 10-hour days is owed 10 overtime hours, worth $270, for a gross week of $990. Salaried staff paid less than $684 a week are not exempt. Idaho does not appear in the U.S. Department of Labor table of state meal period laws, and the statutes read here contain no break mandate for adults, so lunch and rest time come from the employer. Break laws in other states shows where that differs.
Unions, dismissal and leave
Under Idaho Code 44-2003, no one can be required to join or remain in a labor organization to get or keep a job, which places Idaho among the right-to-work states. Employment is at-will. We found no state paid family leave program and no statewide paid sick leave requirement for private employers, so time off for illness depends on the employer, with the federal FMLA protecting the job of eligible workers at larger firms. The Idaho Department of Labor handles wage claims.
Idaho employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Statewide | $7.25 | state rate set at $7.25 and tracks the federal minimum wage |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Employees under 20: $4.25 per hour during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment Read the Idaho rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. No state overtime law; federal FLSA overtime (over 40 hours a week) applies to covered employers.
Sick leave and family leave
Idaho has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; leave depends on the employer's policy or a city ordinance. No statewide paid sick leave requirement for private employers.
No state paid family leave insurance: the federal FMLA gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded); within 48 hours of a written request. Quitting: by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded); within 48 hours of a written request. Vacation: no Idaho statute requires payout of accrued vacation; follows employer policy or agreement. source
Meal and rest breaks
No meal break is required for adults by state law. No paid rest break is required for adults. source
Unions and dismissal
Idaho 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 Idaho
- Cities and counties in Idaho may not set a minimum wage higher than the state rate. source
- A departing employee can get final wages within 48 hours (weekends and holidays excluded) by making a written request to the employer. source
- Employers may pay workers under 20 a training wage of $4.25 an hour for their first 90 days, but may not displace other employees to do so. source