Yes, small businesses in Alaska must pay the state minimum wage. This rate is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage metropolitan area. Recent minimum wage rates have been: $9.89 in 2019, $10.19 in 2020, and $10.34 in 2021.
Alaska Labor Laws
Alaska Minimum Wage
The minimum wage in Alaska increased to $10.34 per hour on January 1, 2021, up from $10.19 in 2020.
Alaska Labor Law Posters
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History of Alaska Labor Laws
In 1959, the inaugural Alaska legislature established the state minimum wage at $1.50 per hour, which was $0.50 above the federal requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act at that time. Since then, Alaska’s minimum wage has consistently remained higher than the federal rate. By law, Alaska’s minimum wage must always be at least $1 per hour above the federal minimum wage.
Municipality Minimum Wage Laws
Alaska does not have a law preventing municipalities from establishing their own minimum wage rates. However, no cities have chosen to set their own rates.
Alaska Minimum Wage Exemptions
Not everyone in Alaska is required to be paid the state minimum wage. Exemptions to the Alaska Wage and Hour Act include individuals employed in the following roles:
- Agriculture
- Taking aquatic life or hand-picking shrimp
- Domestic service (including babysitting) in or around a private home
- By U.S., state, or local governments
- Voluntary service in nonprofit activities of religious, charitable, cemetery, educational, or other nonprofit organizations related solely to the organization’s nonprofit activities
- In a bona fide executive, professional, or administrative capacity as defined by federal regulations; in certain computer occupations; or as an outside or commissioned salesperson
- By a motor vehicle dealer in certain occupations
- As a volunteer providing emergency medical services, serving with a full-time fire department, or assisting with ski patrol services
- By the University of Alaska as a student participating in a practicum
- As a person licensed under AS 08.54 and employed by a registered guide or master guide licensed under AS 08.54 for the first 60 workdays of employment during a calendar year
- As an independent taxicab driver who sets their own driving area and hours, contracts on a flat rate basis for use of the cab, permit, or dispatch services, and is compensated solely by the customers served
- Solely as a watchman or caretaker on premises out of operation for longer than four months
- Delivering newspapers to consumers
- Searching for placer or hard rock minerals
- Working in the Alaska temporary assistance program
- By a nonprofit educational or child care facility to serve in place of a parent for children in residence, if the employment requires residence at the facility and is compensated on a cash basis exclusive of room and board at an annual rate of not less than $10,000 for an unmarried person or $15,000 for a married couple
Alaska Posting Requirements
Required Posters:
- Minimum Wage
- Safety and Health Protection on the Job
- Child Labor
- Sexual Harassment
- Emergency Information
- Unemployment Insurance
- No Smoking
Tipped Wage in Alaska
Alaska does not have a tipped wage, so employers are required to pay $10.19 per hour, regardless of any tips earned by the employee.
Overtime Wage in Alaska
The Alaska overtime law applies to employers with four or more employees. Alaska is one of the few states with daily overtime requirements, meaning employers must pay time-and-a-half the regular rate of pay for any hours worked over eight in a single day, regardless of the total hours worked in a week. The overtime rate also applies after 40 hours in a week.
Exemptions from Overtime under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act:
In addition to the state minimum wage exemptions, the following are also exempt from overtime:
- Individuals handling, packing, storing, pasteurizing, drying, canning, or preparing agricultural or horticultural commodities in their raw or natural state for market, or making cheese, butter, or other dairy products
- Agricultural employees
- Seamen
- Workers engaged in forestry activities such as planting, tending trees, cruising, surveying, bucking, or felling timber, and transporting logs or other forestry products, if the total number of employees does not exceed 12
- Outside buyers of poultry, eggs, cream, or milk in their raw or natural state
- Hospital employees providing medical services
- Employees under a flexible work hour plan included in a collective bargaining agreement
- Employees under a voluntary flexible work plan with a written agreement approved by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (overtime must be paid for work over 40 hours a week and over the hours specified in the plan)
- Community health aides employed by local or regional health organizations
- Flat-rate mechanics primarily servicing automobiles, light trucks, and motor homes
- Employees of small mining operations with no more than 12 employees, provided they do not work more than 12 hours per day or 56 hours per week during a period of no more than 14 workweeks in a calendar year
- Employees involved in publishing a weekly, semiweekly, or daily newspaper with a circulation of less than 1,000
- Casual employees, as defined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development
- Line haul truck drivers for trips exceeding 100 road miles one way, if their pay includes overtime for work over 40 hours per week or eight hours per day, and if the rate of pay is comparable to the minimum wage
- Employees under a voluntary written agreement for trading work shifts, if employed by an air carrier subject to subchapter II of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. §§ 181-188), including customer service representatives, subject to certain provisions (see AS 23.10.060(d)(18))
- Flight crew members employed by an air carrier subject to 45 U.S.C. §§ 181-188 (subchapter II of the Railway Labor Act)
- Switchboard operators in public telephone exchanges with fewer than 750 stations
- Employees in otherwise exempted employment or proprietors in retail or service establishments handling telegraphic, telephone, or radio messages under an agency or contract arrangement with a telegraph or communications company, where the telegraph message or communications revenue does not exceed $500 per month
Child Labor Laws in Alaska
While the federal minimum wage applies to minors working in Alaska, the Alaska Wage and Hour Act does not require employers to pay the state minimum wage to minors under 18 if they work part-time (30 hours or fewer per week). However, if a minor works more than 30 hours in a week, the employer must pay the state minimum wage for all hours worked that week.
Alaska Child Labor Law for 14- and 15-Year-Olds
When school is in session:
- Work hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Combined school and work hours: No more than 9 hours per day (excluding domestic employment, babysitting, handiwork in a private home, and newspaper delivery)
- Total work hours: No more than 23 hours per week
During school vacations:
- Work hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Maximum hours: 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week
General Restrictions for Minors Under 18:
- Cannot work more than 6 days per week
- The Department of Labor and Workforce Development may grant waivers for specific cases, such as seafood processors or vendors at the Alaska State Fair, provided certain criteria are met to ensure the child’s welfare and safety.
Break Requirements:
- Minors under 18 must receive a 30-minute break after 5 consecutive hours of work. This break must occur between the first 90 minutes and the last hour of the work shift, and the minor must be completely relieved of all duties during this time. For example, if a minor works from noon to 6 p.m. during the summer, the break should be scheduled between 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., ideally around 3 p.m.
Employer Recordkeeping Requirements in Alaska
Employers must maintain records covering the following 12 data elements for employees subject to the minimum wage or overtime provisions of the Wage and Hour Act:
- Full name, as used for Social Security recordkeeping purposes, and any identifying symbol or number used in place of the name on time, work, or payroll records
- Home address, including ZIP code
- Date of birth, if under 19
- Sex and occupation
- Time of day and day of the week when the employee’s workweek begins (or for employees under section 7(k) of the act, the starting time and length of each work period). If all employees in a workforce or establishment have the same workweek start time, a single notation will suffice.
- Regular hourly rate of pay for any workweek in which overtime compensation is due under section 7(a) of the act, explanation of the basis of pay (e.g., per hour, per day, per week, per piece, commission on sales), and the amount and nature of each payment excluded from the “regular rate” under section 7(e) of the act (these records may be in the form of vouchers or other payment data)
- Hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek
- Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings or wages due for hours worked, exclusive of premium overtime compensation
- Total premium pay for overtime hours, excluding straight-time earnings for overtime hours recorded under point 8
- Total additions to or deductions from wages paid each pay period, including employee purchase orders or wage assignments, with dates, amounts, and nature of the items making up the total additions and deductions
- Total wages paid each pay period
- Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
For Employees Exempt from Overtime: Employers can omit points 6 through 10 from the above list but must include the basis on which wages are paid in sufficient detail to permit calculation of the employee’s total remuneration for each pay period, including fringe benefits and prerequisites.
Payroll records must be kept for three years.
Alaska Labor Law Questions & Answers
Employers should adhere to their own policies regarding vacation pay. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces an employer’s rules for vacation pay and similar benefits.
The Alaska Child Labor Law restricts the working hours for 14- and 15-year-olds. When school is in session, the combination of school attendance and work cannot exceed nine hours per day. Domestic employment, babysitting, handiwork in a private home, and newspaper delivery are excluded from this limit. These minors can work up to 23 hours per week. During school vacations, they can work up to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.
In Alaska, overtime must be paid after eight hours of work in a day and after 40 hours in a week, at a rate of one-and-a-half times the regular pay. Overtime can be mandatory, but there are exceptions, such as for nurses, who have specific overtime limitations.
Minors under 18 must receive a 30-minute break after five consecutive hours of work or sooner. Employers must ensure this break is taken within the first 90 minutes or last hour of the minor’s shift, and the minor must be completely relieved of duties during this time. Enforcement of this rule is strict, so employers should be careful not to exceed the five-hour mark.
Alaska Labor Law Posters
Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters.