Louisiana Minimum Wage 2026: No State Law, So the Federal $7.25 Applies

Louisiana is one of the few states with no minimum wage law of its own. The U.S. Department of Labor says employers covered by the federal FLSA must pay at least the federal minimum, $7.25 an hour [1]. And state law stops parishes and cities from setting a higher rate for private employers [2].

Why the federal rate is Louisiana’s rate

Most states have their own minimum wage statute. Louisiana doesn’t [1]. That leaves the federal Fair Labor Standards Act as the law that sets minimum pay for most Louisiana workers [1].

Two things follow from that:

• Louisiana’s rate only changes if Congress changes the federal rate. Nothing is scheduled for 2027.
• Cities can’t fill the gap. Louisiana law says no local government may set a minimum wage rate that private employers must pay, or require a minimum number of vacation or sick days [2].

Who the federal law covers

The FLSA covers all employees of an enterprise with at least $500,000 in yearly sales, and of hospitals, schools, care facilities and public agencies, regardless of sales [4]. Workers at smaller businesses can still be covered individually, for example if their work involves interstate commerce [4].

Some workers are exempt from the minimum wage, even at covered employers. Examples include [4]:

• executive, administrative and professional employees, outside salespeople, and certain computer workers,
• employees of certain seasonal amusement or recreational businesses and small newspapers, and newspaper delivery workers,
• farmworkers at small farms that used no more than 500 “man-days” of farm labor in any quarter of the prior year,
• casual babysitters and companions for the elderly or infirm.

Tipped workers

Under federal law, a tipped employee is someone who regularly gets more than $30 a month in tips [3]. The employer can pay a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and count up to $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum [3]. If tips plus cash wages fall short of $7.25 for the hours worked, the employer must make up the difference.

Youth minimum wage

Employers can pay $4.25 an hour to workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive days on the job [4]. Employers can’t push out other workers, or cut their hours or pay, to hire people at the youth wage [4].

If you’re paid less than you’re owed

1. File a federal complaint. Because federal law sets the minimum, complaints go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Call 1-866-487-9243 [5]. Complaints are confidential: the division doesn’t reveal who complained or what the complaint says, and your employer can’t retaliate against you for filing or cooperating [5]. An investigator may visit the employer, interview workers privately and review payroll records [5].

2. Sue for back pay. The FLSA lets the Department of Labor or a worker recover unpaid minimum wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages [4]. The deadline is generally two years, or three years for willful violations [4].

Other states

Comparing Louisiana with its neighbors? See the minimum wage in every state on BestAmerica.