Texas Labor Laws

As of 2022, the minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 per hour. 

The tipped minimum wage in Texas is $2.13 per hour. 

In calculating the overtime rate for the tipped employee, the restaurateur must multiply the minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) by 1½ (1.5), subtract the tip credit ($5.12 per hour), multiply that figure by the number of overtime hours worked, and then add that sum to their 40-hour total. 

Currently, Texas law does not have a break requirement. 

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Texas Payday Law, tipped employees are generally entitled to receive the entirety of the tips received from their customers with a very limited set of exceptions. One of those exceptions includes a lawful tip pool. Another exception recognized by the FLSA and Texas Payday Law includes deductions from credit card fees. The Department of Labor regulations permit restaurants to deduct credit card fees from tips provided by customers by credit card.

Austin, Texas

The City of Austin Sick Time Ordinance requires employers to provide sick leave to employees who work at least 80 hours of work for pay within the City of Austin in a calendar year. Paid sick time is accrued at 1 hour per 30 hours worked. An employee can use sick time for their physical or mental health or to care for a family member’s physical or mental health. The yearly cap for earned sick time is 64 hours per employee per year for an employer with more than 15 employees and 48 hours per employee for an employer with 15 or less employees.

Dallas, Texas

The City of Dallas Earned Paid Sick Time (Paid Sick Leave) Ordinance went into effect on August 1, 2019 for employers with 6 or more employees. The City of Dallas will not enforce the Ordinance, except for violations of the anti-retaliation provision, until April 1, 2020. No part of the Ordinance goes into effect for employers with 5 or fewer employees until August 1, 2021. The Ordinance covers employees who work at least 80 hours within the geographic boundaries of the City of Dallas in a year. An employee will accrue 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Paid leave is capped at sixty-four hours per employee per year for medium or large employers and forty-eight hours per employee per year for small employers.

**On March 30, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the City of Dallas’ paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance took effect Aug. 1, 2019, but the City of Dallas was not authorized to engage in any enforcement efforts (other than with respect to the Dallas Ordinance’s anti-retaliation provision) until April 1.

San Antonio, Texas

Litigation is currently ongoing for the San Antonio Sick and Safe Leave law.

Employees will still accrue an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. But the amended ordinance requires employers to provide at least 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave per year for full-time employees. This is a slight change from the previous language, which required a yearly cap between 48 and 64 hours per year depending on the size of the employer.

Meanwhile, several other specifics of the ordinance were updated.

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The responsible lawyer for this website is Christopher McKinney. For questions about this website, contact Christopher McKinney. The McKinney Law Firm serves clients throughout the State of Texas. The firm's main office is in San Antonio, Texas. Christopher McKinney is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Unless otherwise indicated, other attorneys with the firm are not board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.