MONTPELIER — The Vermont Department of Labor has announced a significant increase in the state’s minimum wage, effective January 1, 2024. The new minimum wage will be $13.67 per hour, up $0.49 from the current rate of $13.18.
This adjustment also affects the state’s minimum wage for tipped employees, which is set at 50% of the full minimum wage.
Consequently, the tipped minimum wage will rise from $6.59 to $6.84 per hour.
Under Vermont’s tipped minimum wage law, employers are permitted to pay tipped employees a lower hourly rate, provided the employees earn enough in tips to meet or exceed the standard minimum wage during a given shift.
If an employee’s tips do not reach the standard minimum wage per hour in any workweek, employers are obligated to compensate the difference, ensuring that the employee’s earnings are equivalent to the non-tipped minimum wage.
The adjustments to both the minimum wage and tipped minimum wage are annual and mandated by Vermont law.
These changes are part of the state’s commitment to ensuring fair compensation for all workers.
Employees who suspect they are not being fairly compensated according to this law can contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Unit at 802-951-4083 or visit Labor.Vermont.gov/Rights-and-Wages for assistance.
