Connecticut minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

The minimum wage in Connecticut is $16.94 an hour. It went up from $16.35 on January 1, 2026.

Minimum wage

$16.94

For a 40-hour week

$677.60

From January 1, 2027

$17.48

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-58(j) (minimum fair wage indexed annually to the employment cost index); Public Act 19-4 Read the rule

Employers in Connecticut can pay tipped workers a cash wage as low as $6.38 an hour and count up to $10.56 an hour of tips toward the $16.94 minimum. That is called a tip credit. Your cash wage plus the tips you keep must reach at least $16.94 for every hour in each workweek. If they do not, your employer has to make up the difference.

Tips can count toward the wage

Yes

Tipped cash wage

$6.38

Maximum tip credit

$10.56

Employer must tell you first

Yes

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-60(d)(3) (employer's share fixed at $6.38/hour for hotel and restaurant employees other than bartenders and $8.23/hour for bartenders who customarily receive tips; the recognized gratuity credit is the difference between the minimum fair wage and the employer's share); Regs. Conn. State Agencies 31-62-E1(a), 31-62-E3. Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.
• Working all seven days of a workweek triggers extra overtime on the seventh day.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$25.41

Overtime cash rate with a tip credit

$14.85

For tipped workers, overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage. At $16.94, that is $25.41 an hour, so with the full tip credit the overtime cash rate cannot be less than $14.85.

Source: Regs. Conn. State Agencies 31-62-E1(c): in restaurant and hotel restaurant occupations, work on the seventh consecutive day is paid at not less than 1.5 x the minimum fair wage for all hours worked that day. 31-62-E1(d) and Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-76c: 1.5 x the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. Read the rule

Meal break

30 minutes when you work more than 7.5 hours

Rest break

Not required

Extra pay for a missed break

No

Connecticut requires these breaks but does not set a fixed premium, like an extra hour of pay, when one is missed. If you work through a meal break, that time has to be paid.

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-51ii: a 30-minute meal period for employees who work 7.5 or more consecutive hours, taken after the first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours. No rest break requirement and no premium for a missed meal period. Read the rule

Taxes and deductions you agreed to, like health insurance, are normal. These are the ones that cause trouble in restaurants and bars, and what Connecticut allows:

Required uniforms

Only if pay stays above minimum

Register or cash shortages

Not allowed

Broken dishes or equipment

Not allowed

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Not allowed

"Only if pay stays above minimum" means the deduction cannot take your pay for the week below minimum wage. For a worker paid a tipped cash wage, that usually leaves no room for a uniform, shortage, breakage or walkout deduction. A card fee works differently: only the fee on the card tip itself, taken from that tip.

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-71e: an employer may withhold or divert wages only when required or empowered by law, with the employee's written authorization on a form approved by the Labor Commissioner, or for medical premiums or retirement plans. Business losses such as register shortages, breakage and customer walkouts are not an authorized deduction. Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

No

Kitchen staff can share when no tip credit is taken

Yes

In most states, an employer can require tipped staff to pool tips with others who serve customers, like bussers, runners and bartenders. Managers, supervisors and owners can never take a share. Under federal law, cooks and dishwashers can share only when the employer takes no tip credit, and some states do not allow it at all. The answers above show the rule in Connecticut.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B); 29 CFR 531.54 Read the rule

Under federal law, a mandatory service charge, like an automatic 20% on large parties, is not a tip. It belongs to the business unless it is paid out, and when it is paid to you it counts as wages. It cannot be used to cover the tip credit, and it should not be reported as tips on your stub. Some states give the charge to the staff when customers were not clearly told it is not a tip, so if a charge was presented as a gratuity, it is worth asking where it went.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55 (a compulsory service charge is not a tip) Read the rule

Connecticut requires employers to give paid sick leave.

You earn

1 hour for every 30 hours worked

Yearly use can be capped at

40 hours

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-57r through 31-57w: 1 hour per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, paid at the normal hourly wage or the minimum fair wage, whichever is higher. Employers with 11 or more Connecticut employees from 1/1/2026; all employers with 1 or more employees from 1/1/2027. Seasonal employees (120 days or fewer per year) are excluded. Read the rule

Some parts of Connecticut law depend on things a pay stub does not show. A TruWage result for Connecticut can be off if any of these apply to you:

• If you are a bartender, your minimum cash wage is $8.23 an hour, not the $6.38 server rate this check used. If you were paid less than $8.23, you are underpaid even if this check passed.
• If you work in a restaurant and worked all seven days of a workweek, every hour on the seventh day is owed at 1.5 times the minimum wage. This check does not calculate that.
• If on any day you spent 2 hours or more, or over 20 percent of your shift, on non-service work like cleaning or prep, no tip credit may be taken for that day and you are owed the full minimum wage for it. This check cannot see that.
• If you reported to work at a restaurant and were sent home early, you are owed at least 2 hours of pay at the minimum wage for that day. This check cannot see that.

Start with your manager or payroll and show them the numbers. Many mistakes get fixed that way. If it is not fixed, you can file a wage claim. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

Agency

Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards Division

Phone

(860) 263-6790

File a Statement of Claim for Wages online through the link on the complaint page (English and Spanish). Phone line is staffed Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Office: 200 Folly Brook Blvd, Wethersfield, CT 06109. Investigations cover only the two years before the complaint.

How to file a wage claim

You can also file with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, which enforces federal wage law, at 1-866-487-9243. They take complaints in many languages and keep the name of the person complaining confidential.