Nevada minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

The minimum wage in Nevada is $12.00 an hour.

Minimum wage

$12.00

For a 40-hour week

$480.00

Source: Nev. Const. Art. 15, Sec. 16(A) as amended by Ballot Question 2 (2022); AB 456 (2019); NRS 608.250 ($12.00 for all employees regardless of health benefits since July 1, 2024; reaffirmed in the 2025 Annual Minimum Wage Bulletin) Read the rule

Nevada does not let employers count your tips toward the minimum wage. You are owed the full $12.00 an hour before tips, and every tip you receive is on top of that.

Tips can count toward the wage

No

Tipped cash wage

$12.00

Source: Nev. Const. Art. 15, Sec. 16(A); NRS 608.160(1)(b) (it is unlawful to apply tips or gratuities as a credit toward payment of the statutory minimum hourly wage) Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.
• Hours past 8 in a single workday are overtime too, at 1.5 times your regular rate, even if the week is under 40.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$18.00

Source: NRS 608.018(1) (employees who earn less than 1.5 times the minimum wage, i.e. less than $18.00 per hour, are owed 1.5x their regular rate for more than 8 hours of work in any 24-hour period as well as for more than 40 hours in a workweek; employees at or above $18.00 are owed overtime only over 40 in a week) Read the rule

Meal break

30 minutes when you work more than 8 hours

Rest break

10 paid minutes for every 4 hours

Extra pay for a missed break

No

Nevada 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: NRS 608.019 (an employer with 2 or more employees may not employ an employee for a continuous period of 8 hours without a meal period of at least 30 minutes; paid rest period of 10 minutes for each 4 hours or major fraction; collective bargaining agreements and Labor Commissioner exemptions excepted; no statutory premium for a missed break) 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 Nevada allows:

Required uniforms

Not allowed

Register or cash shortages

Only if pay stays above minimum

Broken dishes or equipment

Only if pay stays above minimum

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Only if pay stays above minimum

"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: NRS 608.165 (an employer must furnish required uniforms, distinctive clothing an employee must wear, without cost to the employee); NRS 608.110; NAC 608.160 (other deductions require the employee's voluntary written authorization for a specific purpose, pay period and amount, and the employer must have a reasonable basis to hold the employee responsible; blanket advance authorizations are not valid) Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

Not applicable

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 Nevada.

Source: NRS 608.160(1)(a) (it is unlawful for any person to take all or part of any tips or gratuities bestowed upon the employees of that person); NRS 608.160(2) permits employees to agree to divide tips among themselves; Wynn Las Vegas v. Baldonado (Nev. 2013) upheld employer-mandated tip pools 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

Nevada requires employers to give paid sick leave.

You earn

1 hour for every 52 hours worked

Yearly use can be capped at

40 hours

Source: NRS 608.0197 (private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada must provide at least 0.01923 hours of paid leave per hour worked, usable for any reason; use may be limited to 40 hours per benefit year; employers in their first 2 years of operation are exempt) Read the rule

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

• If you earn $18.00 an hour or more, or you agreed to a regular 4-day, 10-hour schedule, Nevada daily overtime (over 8 hours in a day) does not apply to you. Disregard any daily overtime amount here; weekly overtime still applies.
• If your employer deducted for a cash shortage, breakage, or walkout, Nevada allows it only with a written authorization you signed after the loss for that specific amount. This check cannot see whether you signed one.

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

Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner (Department of Business and Industry)

Phone

702-486-2650

Wage claims are filed with the Labor Commissioner using the Claim for Wages form (online or mail). Las Vegas office 702-486-2650; Carson City office 775-684-1890.

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.