Wage-and-hour ground rules for hotel and hospitality employers in Indiana — minimum wage, tipped-employee rules, overtime, breaks, premium pay, and the hotel-specific obligations that apply on top. General minimum and tipped wage rates were reviewed on October 18, 2026; effective dates and source-specific rule updates appear below.
Rate review: October 18, 2026. Apply the rate for the work date, location, occupation, and employer tier. The linked statutes, rules, and agency guidance control the coverage and exceptions. How we verify →
Minimum wage#
The Indiana minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009. Indiana Code §22-2-2-4 tracks the federal minimum wage; $7.25 since July 24, 2009. State law covers employers with 2+ employees not covered by the FLSA.
Preemption Indiana preempts local minimum wage ordinances — cities and counties cannot set their own general wage floors.
Tipped employees & tip pooling#
Indiana allows a tip credit: employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $2.13 and claim up to $5.12 per hour in tips toward the minimum wage. Mirrors federal FLSA: more than $30/month in tips, tip-credit notice, tips bring total compensation to $7.25/hour. Ind. Code §22-2-2-4(c) authorizes the federal-style tip credit.
Tip pooling#
No state pooling statute; federal rules govern (no employers/managers/supervisors; tip-credit pools limited to customarily tipped employees). (29 C.F.R. §531.54)
See the federal baseline rules in our tip credit and tip pooling briefs — the stricter of federal or Indiana law controls.
Overtime#
Overtime is due after 40 hours in a workweek. State overtime mirrors the FLSA at time-and-a-half after 40 hours (Ind. Code §22-2-2-4(f) et seq.) for employers not covered federally.
Run the math — including the tipped-overtime trap — with the tipped overtime calculator.
Meal & rest breaks#
Meal breaks: Not required by Indiana law for adult employees — No state meal or rest break requirement for adult employees (the teen break law was repealed in 2015). Under federal law, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as paid working time.
Rest breaks: Not required by Indiana law.
Scheduling & premium pay#
- Reporting-time pay: None required by state law.
- Split-shift premium: None.
- Spread of hours: None.
Service charges & gratuities#
Indiana has no service-charge-specific statute — the federal tip/service-charge line (and IRS treatment) controls. Background: service charges, auto-gratuities & resort fees.
Pay administration#
- Pay frequency: At least semimonthly or biweekly, within 10 business days of the period close (Ind. Code §22-2-5-1, the 'Ten Day Rule' with treble-damage exposure for violations).
- Wage statements: Employers must furnish a statement of hours worked, wages paid, and itemized deductions each pay period. (Ind. Code §22-2-2-8)
- Exempt salary floor: $684.00/week (federal) — No state EAP salary floor; federal $684/week applies (DOL's 2024 increase was vacated and DOL reverted).
- Lodging credit: Federal FLSA §3(m) reasonable-cost board/lodging standards apply; no separate state rule.
Ind. Code §22-2-2-10.5 preempts local minimum wages and benefits mandates, so Indianapolis hospitality stays at federal rates. Wage Payment/Wage Claims statutes (with liquidated damages) make pay-timing and final-pay errors the main state-law exposure.
Sources and further reading#
Government agencies and official publishers appear first. Independently hosted legal texts and secondary reporting are identified separately below.
Official sources
- Indiana Department of Labor — Wage & Hour
- US DOL consolidated state minimum wage table (accessed 2026-06-12)
- US DOL minimum wages for tipped employees table (accessed 2026-06-12)
Additional reporting and commentary
- Paycom minimum wage rate by state (2026) cross-check (accessed 2026-06-12)