WY · state labor law, 2026
Wyoming labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Wyoming keeps a state minimum wage below the federal one, leaves overtime and breaks to federal law and writes into statute that tips are the worker's property.
Wyoming 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
Most Wyoming workers must be paid at least $7.25 an hour in 2026, the federal minimum wage, even though state law still sets $5.15. The state figure only matters for the few employers outside the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the gap between the two is $4,368 a year for a full-time job. Tipped employees, defined as those who receive more than $30 a month in tips, can be paid a cash wage of $2.13 as long as tips bring them to the minimum, and the tips themselves belong to the employee by statute. Workers under 20 may be paid $4.25 during their first 90 consecutive days. Wyoming has no general overtime law, so the federal rule of time and a half after 40 hours a week applies. There is no state paid sick leave, paid family leave or break requirement, and vacation is owed only if the employer agreed to it. Final wages are due by the next regular payday.
Gross pay for this week in Wyoming
$290
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week (federal rule)
| Minimum wage in Wyoming 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 required for adults |
| Final paycheck if fired | no later than the employer's next regularly scheduled payday |
| 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.
Why the state number is not the one you are paid
Title 27 of the Wyoming statutes still tells every employer to pay at least $7.25 an hour. That figure is lower than the federal minimum, and federal law wins wherever it applies, which is almost everywhere: the Department of Workforce Services says plainly that most workers must be paid $7.25. The state rate survives only for the few employers that the FLSA does not cover. For everyone else, the difference is not academic. A full-time year at the federal rate pays $15,080; at the state rate it would be $10,712. If a pay stub shows less than $7.25 an hour, the first question is whether the employer is really outside federal coverage, and the U.S. Department of Labor is the agency that answers it.
Compare two states for a full-time minimum wage job
Texas / California, per hour
$7.25 / $16.90
| Full-time year (2,080 h) | $15,080 / $35,152 |
| Gap over a year | $20,072 |
| Paid sick leave law | no / yes |
| Paid family leave program | no / yes |
Long shifts under federal overtime
Wyoming has overtime rules only for public works projects and some state and county employees. Private employers follow the FLSA alone: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, no daily threshold and no double time. That matters on compressed schedules. A crew member paid $25 an hour on four 12-hour shifts works 48 hours and earns $1,300, including $300 for 8 overtime hours. In a state with a daily rule the same week would carry overtime every day; in Wyoming only the weekly total counts. For exempt salaried staff, the test is the federal $684 a week.
Tips that stay with the worker
Wyoming statute is unusually direct about gratuities: tips received by an employee are the sole property of that employee and cannot be paid over, in whole or in part, to the employer or anyone else. An employer may still count tips toward the minimum wage, paying a cash wage of $2.13, but it must make up any shortfall. A barista who averages $3.5 an hour in tips has $5.63 an hour from wage and tips combined, so the employer owes $1.62 more for each hour. The statute text is in the Title 27 compilation.
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 Wyoming | $7.25 |
| Top-up over a 30-hour week | $34 |
Leave, breaks and the last paycheck
Wyoming law does not require employers to give vacation or to pay it out at the end of a job; an employer that agreed to a vacation plan must honor that agreement. There is no state paid sick leave and no paid family leave program, so unpaid job-protected leave comes from the federal FMLA and its 50-employee threshold. Federal law requires no meal or rest breaks, and no Wyoming statute adding one was found for this guide. Whether you quit or are discharged, the wages due must be paid no later than the employer's next regularly scheduled payday. Wyoming is a right-to-work state under section 27-7-109: no one has to join or remain in a union to keep a job. Employment is at will. Other right-to-work states follow a similar rule.
Wyoming employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Statewide (federal FLSA rate) | $7.25 | State law sets $5.15, but most workers are covered by the federal $7.25 |
Wyoming has no state rate above the federal floor, so employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act pay at least $7.25 an hour. Youth wage: employees under 20 may be paid at least $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive days (state law; the federal youth wage is also $4.25). Read the Wyoming 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 general state overtime law (only for public works and state/county employees); the federal FLSA applies. source
Sick leave and family leave
Wyoming 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 law.
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: no later than the employer's next regularly scheduled payday. Quitting: no later than the employer's next regularly scheduled payday. Vacation: Wyoming law does not require employers to give vacation or to pay it out at separation; an employer that agreed to a vacation plan must honor the agreement.. 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.
Unions and dismissal
Wyoming 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