Like federal law, Pennsylvania law requires that employees be paid one and one-half time their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in any seven-day workweek.

Anyone who is not covered by Pennsylvania’s minimum wage (see the next section, below) is also not covered by the state’s overtime provisions. In addition, the following individuals who are covered by the state minimum wage requirement are not covered by the overtime requirement:

• Seamen
• Salespersons, parts persons, or mechanics selling and servicing automobiles, trailers, trucks, farm implements or aircraft
• Taxicab drivers
• Announcers, news editors, or chief engineers at small TV and radio stations
• Employees engaged in processing maple sap into sugar (other than refined sugar) or syrup
• Movie theater employees
• Motor carrier employees

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Pennsylvania’s tipped minimum wage is $2.83 per hour. An employee is considered tipped if they spend no more than 20% of their workweek on non-tipped tasks. 

An employer can take a tip credit for an employee’s base hourly wage if the employee earns at least $135 in tips per month. The base hourly wage and tips must add up to at least $7.25 per hour. If the employee earns less than $7.25 per hour, the employer must make up the difference. See the Pennsylvania website for more informaion.

No cities or counties in Pennsylvania currently have a minimum wage that is different from the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Pennsylvania law does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks to employees 18 years old or older. If your employer does provide you with a break of 20 minutes or less, (s)he is required to pay you for that time. Employers are not required to pay for meal periods over 20 minutes during which employees are not working. Employees between 14 and 17 years old must receive breaks of 30 minutes for every five consecutive hours worked.

If your employer owes you wages, you can file a wage claim with the Pennsylvania Department of Wage and Industry. If your claim is valid, the Department will contact your employer in order to help you recover your unpaid wages. If that is not successful, the Department can also bring a suit in court on your behalf against your employer. If your employer does not pay you within 60 days of your filing a claim, you may be entitled to an additional 25% of the value of the wages you are owed.

Do not delay in contacting the OHR or EEOC to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which charges of wage-and-hour violations must be filed. In order for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor to act on your behalf, you must file your wage complaint within three years of when your wages are due, since this is the statute of limitations for filing a case for unpaid wages. However, as you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. You may wish to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, if possible.

Instead of filing a wage claim with the Department of Labor, you may also file an individual suit in court to recover your unpaid wages. The statute of limitations for such a claim is three years after the date on which your wages were due. Under certain conditions, the court may require the employer who owes you wages to pay your attorneys’ fees and may award you an additional 25% of the wages you are owed.

More answers about wages in Pennsylvania may be found here.