IN · state labor law, 2026
Indiana labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Indiana keeps the federal wage floor, adds a sharp penalty for late wages and leaves breaks and leave to the employer.
Indiana 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
- $2.13/h
- tips must make up the rest
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- state law
- Paid sick leave
- no state law
- employer policy
- Paid family leave
- no program
- FMLA is unpaid
Indiana pays the federal floor, $7.25 an hour in 2026, and has no raise scheduled for 2027, so a 40-hour job at the minimum comes to $15,080 a year before taxes. The state law reaches employers with two or more workers that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not cover, and it uses the same figure. Tipped staff can be paid $2.13 in cash as long as tips lift each hour to $7.25. Workers under 20 may receive a $4.25 training wage during their first 90 consecutive calendar days. Time and a half is owed past 40 hours in a workweek, with the federal $684 weekly salary line for exempt staff. Final wages are due on the next regularly scheduled payday, whether you quit or are let go, and an employer that pays late without good faith can be ordered to pay liquidated damages of twice the wages due.
Gross pay for this week in Indiana
$290
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week
| Minimum wage in Indiana 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 for adults (minors only) |
| Final paycheck if fired | by the next regularly scheduled payday |
| 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.
When a late paycheck costs the employer twice over
What sets Indiana apart is not its wage rate but what happens when wages arrive late. Under the state wage payment rules, an employer that misses a payday owes the unpaid amount plus the worker's attorney fees and court costs. If a court finds the failure was not in good faith, it must add liquidated damages equal to two times the wages due. Take a warehouse picker shorted $1,200 on a final check: liquidated damages alone would reach $2,400, before fees. The Indiana Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division handles wage questions, and a court decides whether good faith existed, so the outcome of a given claim depends on its facts.
The deadline itself is plain: the last wages are due on or before the next regularly scheduled payday on which you would have been paid had you stayed. Quitting and being fired follow the same clock.
If you were let go today
Employment rule
At will
| Final pay | by the next regularly scheduled payday |
| Unused vacation | per written policy |
| Right-to-work state | yes |
Teenagers on the payroll
Indiana allows employers to start workers younger than 20 at $4.25 an hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days. A 17-year-old working 25 hours a week at a pizza counter earns $75 less per week than at $7.25 during that period, and the full minimum applies from day 91. Minors also get the only break rule in Indiana law: a worker under 18 scheduled for at least six consecutive hours must receive one or two rest breaks adding up to at least 30 minutes. Adults have no such right; the Department of Labor states that Indiana law generally does not require lunch or other breaks for adult employees, so the handbook sets them.
Overtime for a long week
Indiana writes the 40-hour overtime rule into its own code for employers outside the FLSA, with exceptions listed in Indiana Code 22-2-2-3, and federal law covers everyone else on the same terms. A forklift driver earning $19 an hour who works five 10-hour days has 10 overtime hours and a gross week of $1,045, of which $285 is the overtime portion. There is no state salary threshold above the federal $684 a week, so a salaried supervisor paid less than that is owed overtime regardless of title. The duties tests decide the rest.
Vacation days at the end of the job
The Department of Labor treats accrued vacation as a form of compensation, owed on a pro rata basis when you leave. The catch is the policy: if a handbook or contract sets conditions, such as two weeks' notice or a minimum length of service, those conditions must be met before the payout is owed. A worker leaving with 32 unused hours at $19 would be looking at $608 if no condition blocks it. Read the written policy before giving notice. Vacation payout rules elsewhere vary widely, and the tipped worker rules are covered on the tipped minimum wage page.
Indiana employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 24, 2009 | Statewide | $7.25 | Indiana Minimum Wage Law matches the federal $7.25; applies to employers of 2 or more employees not covered by the federal FLSA. |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Training wage: $4.25/hour for employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with the employer. Read the Indiana rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. State overtime rule (1.5x after 40 hours/week) covers employers not subject to the FLSA; exceptions listed in Indiana Code 22-2-2-3. source
Sick leave and family leave
Indiana has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; leave depends on the employer's policy or a city ordinance. No Indiana law requires private employers to provide paid sick leave.
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 next regularly scheduled payday. Quitting: by the next regularly scheduled payday. Vacation: IDOL treats accrued vacation as compensation owed pro rata at separation, unless a company policy or contract sets conditions that are not met.. 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. Workers under 18 scheduled for at least 6 consecutive hours must get 1 or 2 rest breaks totaling at least 30 minutes. source
Unions and dismissal
Indiana 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 Indiana
- An employer that fails to pay wages on time owes the wages plus attorney fees and court costs; if the failure was not in good faith, a court orders liquidated damages of two times the wages due. source
- Indiana allows a $4.25 training wage for workers under 20 during their first 90 days with an employer. source