US federal minimum wage

Summary

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, in effect since July 24, 2009, under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many states set higher minimums; employers must follow both.

General information, not legal advice. State laws may give more protection; check your state labor department.

Facts

id: F1 claim: The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F2 claim: Federal minimum wage rules are in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F3 claim: Many states have their own minimum wage laws; when both apply, employers must comply with both. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F4 claim: The FLSA does not provide a way to collect promised wages above its required minimums, though some state laws do. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F5 claim: Wage and Hour Division help line: 1-866-487-9243. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0

Pointers

answers: Full official guidance beyond this summary where: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage access: open, no account

Source: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage · License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, \"Minimum Wage\" (public domain (US government work)).

For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/reference/us-gov/federal-minimum-wage.md.