Oklahoma State Minimum Wage

The Oklahoma minimum wage in 2023 is $7.25 per hour – this is the federal minimum wage rate, shared by many other states around the U.S.

However, this rate is not what all minimum wage employees are paid in Oklahoma, the state has a few exemption rates that are determined by your employment situation.

As an employer in Oklahoma, it is not only important to know what the minimum wage rate is, but also the laws that surround it.

This will ensure that employees of the state are being paid what they should, and are being treated fairly due to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Now, as an employee in Oklahoma being paid the minimum wage – here is what your earnings would look like:

• 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: $1,256.66  (based on a full-time month).
• Yearly Minimum Wage: $15,080.00 (based on being paid 52 weeks per year).

Here is a downloadable graphic consisting of the minimum wage earnings above:

You should note that these earnings are before any income tax has been deducted.

As you can see in the graphic below – the minimum wage in Oklahoma has not increased at all over the past several years, unlike many other states:

Despite there being previous whispers of a statewide minimum wage increase, rising from the federal rate, there is seemingly no sign of a future increase.

It is almost 100% guaranteed that the Oklahoma minimum wage will remain $7.25 per hour in 2024, unlike many other U.S. states.

However, there are still some exemptions to the minimum wage rate that as an employee or employer, you must be aware of!

Oklahoma Minimum Wage Exemptions

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

Below are the various minimum wage exemptions with some situational examples.

Oklahoma Student Minimum Wage

The minimum wage for student employees in Oklahoma is 85% of the Oklahoma state 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 to be paid the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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.

Oklahoma Under 20 Minimum Wage

If you are under 20 years old in Oklahoma, 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 Oklahoma 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.

Oklahoma Tipped Minimum Wage

If you are a tipped employee in Oklahoma (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.

Oklahoma Overtime Minimum Wage

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

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

Other Oklahoma Minimum Wage Exemptions

Below are the rest of the minimum wage exemptions due to employment type/situation:

• Executive, professional, and administrative employees who earn not less than $684 a week.
• Computer employees who earn not less than $684 per week or $27.63 an hour.
• Highly compensated employees who earn $107,432 per year or more.
• Farm workers.
• Employees in fishing industries.
• Seasonal and recreational workers.

Below is a downloadable graphic of the main minimum wage exemptions in Oklahoma:

Oklahoma Minimum Wage History

The table below provides the history of Oklahoma’s minimum wage over the years since 1983.

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

Minimum Wage Poster and Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services Contact Details

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

The good news is that you can acquire one of these posters for free from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services website, and download the poster in English and Spanish.

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

Office of Management and Enterprise Services
2401 N Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Telephone: 405-521-2444
Email: Melissa.Milburn@omes.ok.gov