Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the state’s minimum wage will increase from $13.67 to $14.01 per hour — an increase of $0.34. If full-time, a minimum wage worker would earn $29,140 in a year.
This annual adjustment also impacts the minimum wage for tipped employees. The “Basic Tipped Wage Rate” for service, or “tipped employees,” equals 50% of the full minimum wage. On Jan. 1, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $6.84 to $7.01 per hour.
The state’s tipped minimum wage law allows employers to pay a lower hourly rate, as long as the employee receives tips equal to, or greater to than, the standard minimum wage during a given shift. In cases where the employee does not receive enough in tips during a workweek to equal the standard minimum wage per hour, the employer is required to pay the difference in order to ensure the tipped wage employee is compensated at the non-tipped minimum wage amount.
The minimum wage and tipped minimum wage are adjusted annually in accordance with Vermont law and take effect at the start of the new year.
If an employee believes they are not being compensated fairly, according to this law, they are encouraged to contact the Dept. of Labor’s wage and hour unit at 802-951-4083 or online at Labor.Vermont.gov/Rights-and-Wages.
For more information, visit: labor.vermont.gov.
