Louisiana Minimum Wage Calculator

Louisiana has no separate state minimum-wage law. For an ordinary employee covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the floor is $7.25 per hour. Use this form for a confirmed federal-floor job; check a higher employment agreement or public-contract requirement separately.

Reviewed October 2, 2026 against the U.S. DOL state wage table and Louisiana Works labor resources.

New Orleans: check the job’s contract before using $7.25

Louisiana law restricts city and parish mandates for private-employer minimum wages. That does not settle every public-contract pay requirement. New Orleans publishes a separate Living Wage Ordinance for covered employment, with its own coverage and compensated-leave requirements. A job subject to that ordinance is outside this federal-floor calculator. R.S. 23:642; New Orleans living-wage requirements and current notice.

For a city-funded project, ask for the applicable contract’s wage provision and effective date. Do not decide from a New Orleans mailing address alone. For an ordinary covered private job in Baton Rouge, Shreveport or Lafayette, federal coverage must still be established; the absence of a state wage law does not make every worker automatically covered.

Restaurant pay: separate tips from the employer’s cash

With a valid federal credit, cash before adjustments starts at $2.13 per hour and the credit is at most $5.12. Advance notice, the tipped occupation and lawful retention or pooling all matter. A compulsory service charge is not entered as a tip here, because it can affect the regular rate and payroll calculation. DOL Fact Sheet 15.

The 50-hour example uses ten overtime hours. The credit stays $5.12 on those hours; multiplying only $2.13 by 1.5 would understate the required cash wage. The displayed gross includes the worker’s retained tips and is not the employer’s payroll cash alone.

Calculate each workweek even when paid every two weeks

A 50-hour week followed by a 30-hour week gives $398.75 plus $217.50 at the full floor, totaling $616.25. Averaging them into two 40-hour weeks gives $580 and misses $36.25 of overtime. The form evaluates one fixed workweek at a time. Paid leave and hours actually worked should be identified separately before entering a total. Federal workweek and overtime guidance.

Louisiana final pay has its own deadline

For ordinary cases under R.S. 23:631, discharge or resignation generally triggers payment by the applicable next regular payday or within 15 days, whichever comes first. The statute has qualifications, including a collective-bargaining provision. It also addresses earned vacation and compensation such as commissions or bonuses; this hourly model does not resolve those amounts. Current R.S. 23:631.

If the amount is disputed, the statute requires timely payment of the undisputed portion. Keep the last schedule, pay statement and employment policy together. Louisiana Works routes federal minimum-wage and overtime questions to the U.S. Department of Labor and links the state’s separate paycheck laws. State labor-law resource directory.

Annual gross follows the weeks you actually enter

Thirty hours for 48 weeks at $7.25 produces $10,440 before tips and taxes. Forty hours for 52 weeks produces $15,080. The monthly figure is the annual estimate divided by 12; it does not assume that every month contains four workweeks.

Compare workplace rules: Texas minimum wage, Arkansas minimum wage and Mississippi minimum wage. Methodology · Sources.

Updated October 5, 2026 First published September 4, 2026

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