Louisiana State Minimum Wage

The 2023 minimum wage in Louisiana is currently sitting at $7.25 per hour after yet another year passed without an increase.

Much like the Indiana minimum wage, Louisiana is currently following the federal minimum wage and has done so for more than a decade.

For business owners and managers, it is essential to know what you are legally obligated to pay your employees within the state, as well as the labor laws to follow.

Equally, for employees, it is important to understand the minimum wage you are entitled to along with everything else that comes with it.

If you are a full-time worker on Louisiana state minimum wage, your earnings could be as follows:

• Daily Minimum Wage: $58.00 (based on an 8-hour day).
• Weekly Minimum Wage: $290.00 (based on a 40-hour week).
• Monthly Minimum Wage: $1,160.00 (based on a 160-hour month).
• Yearly Minimum Wage: $15,080.00 (based on being paid 52 weeks per year).

Feel free to download the graphic below, consisting of these minimum-wage earnings that you can use as a reference:

You should note that these earnings are before any statewide taxation has been deducted!

The graphic below highlights the Louisiana minimum wage over the past several years. The minimum wage did not go up and remains at $7.25 per hour in 2023.

2023 has not seen an increase in the Louisiana state minimum wage, and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of it increasing in the coming years.

In early 2018, the state held talks to increase the Louisiana minimum wage to $8.00 per hour in 2019 and $8.50 in 2020.

However, this was voted down by business interest groups and never materialized. This page is constantly updated with the latest information regarding the Louisiana state minimum wage.

Louisiana Minimum Wage Exemptions

In addition to the regular minimum wage rate, there are a few Louisiana state minimum wage exemptions that typically depend on your age or employment situation.

Download the graphic consisting of Louisiana minimum wage exemptions below:

Below are some employment examples for minimum wage exemptions in Louisiana:

• Farmworkers
• Newspaper delivery workers
• Seasonal workers
• Babysitters

Louisiana Student Minimum Wage

The minimum wage for student employees in Louisiana is 85% of the Louisiana minimum wage, making their hourly pay $6.16 per hour in 2023.

This hourly rate is for any hours worked up to 20 hours per week. As a student employee, once you surpass 20 hours per week, you will be eligible for the Louisiana minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.

Being a student can be financially challenging, leading many students to pick up part-time jobs to make extra money while studying.

Despite a student minimum wage rate, many Louisiana employers will not necessarily follow it and pay you equal to or more than the statewide minimum wage.

Many work-study programs are available at universities, which is a route many students go down. Still, coffee shop, cafe, bar, and restaurant jobs are commonly taken by students as they can work them into their class schedule.

Louisiana Under 20 Minimum Wage

If you are under 20 years old in Louisiana, federal law allows your employer to pay you as little as $4.25 per hour for your first 90 days of employment.

Once the 90-day period is over, you will be eligible to be paid the 2023 Louisiana minimum wage of $7.25 per hour or potentially even more.

Fortunately for young workers, this is 90 calendar days and not 90 working days; therefore, it can be completed relatively quickly and within about three months.

Louisiana Tipped Minimum Wage

If you are a tipped employee in Louisiana (someone who receives regular tips as a part of their job) then you are eligible to be paid a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour, with a tip credit of $5.12 per hour, ensuring that you reach the statewide minimum wage regardless if you make enough hourly tips.

Louisiana Overtime Minimum Wage

Once you work over 40 hours a week, you can be paid an overtime rate of 1.5 times your hourly wage for every hour you work past 40.

So, the overtime Louisiana state minimum wage is $10.88 per hour, 1.5 times the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Louisiana Minimum Wage History

The table below provides the current rate and history of Louisiana’s minimum wage over the past 40+ years since 1983.

You can see when there were increases in the minimum wage, how much they were, and what percentage increase it represents each year.

Louisiana minimum wage history for more than 10 years – downloadable PDF below

Louisiana Minimum Wage History – Downloadable PDF

Louisiana Minimum Wage Poster & Department of Labor & Workforce Commission Contact Details

As a Louisiana employer, you need to keep yourself compliant with the law. To do this, you need to display a Louisiana Labor Law poster in a prominent place.

The good news is that you can acquire one of these posters for free from the Department of Labor and Workforce website, and download the poster.

If you wish to contact the department directly, here are all of the contact details you need:

Department of Labor and Workforce Commission
2900 Dowdell St
Shreveport, LA 71103
United States
Phone number: 1-866-783-5567
Workforce Commission for Businesses
Workforce Commission for Workers