Wisconsin Minimum Wage Calculator

💡 Wisconsin Wage Law Essentials

• Standard Minimum Rate: Under Wis. Stat. § 104.035 and Wis. Admin. Code DWD 272.03, Wisconsin's statutory minimum wage is $7.25/hour. State law preempts local cities and counties from enacting separate municipal minimum wage rates.
• Tipped Minimum Cash Wage: Employers may pay an hourly direct cash wage of $2.33/hour (higher than the federal $2.13 floor) and claim up to a $4.92/hour tip credit for standard tipped employees.
• Opportunity Wage (Under 20): Under Wis. Stat. § 104.035(2m), employers may pay an opportunity wage of $5.90/hour to workers under age 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. For tipped opportunity workers, the cash wage floor is $2.13/hour (maximum tip credit of $3.77/hour).
• Tip Shortfall Guarantee: If direct cash pay ($2.33/hr or $2.13/hr) plus employee tips average less than the applicable minimum wage ($7.25/hr or $5.90/hr) across the workweek, the employer must cover the entire shortfall.
• Signed Tip Declaration: Under Wis. Admin. Code DWD 272.03(3), employers must maintain a signed tip declaration from the employee each pay period to claim the tip credit; missing declarations invalidate the tip credit entirely.
• Overtime Pay: Non-exempt hours exceeding 40 per workweek must be paid at 1.5× regular pay. For tipped workers, the direct cash overtime rate is $(1.5 \times \text{Base Wage}) - \text{Tip Credit} = (1.5 \times \$7.25) - \$4.92 = \$10.875 - \$4.92 = \$5.955 \approx \$5.96/\text{hour}$.