Texas Labor Laws

Texas Minimum Wage

Texas adheres to the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour, which has been in effect since July 24, 2009.

Texas Labor Law Posters

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History of Texas Labor Laws

Texas faced early challenges with organized labor. In 1885, the Knights of Labor, the first labor union in Texas, led a strike against the Wabash Railroad, which significantly boosted union membership in the state, albeit briefly.

A few months later, in March 1886, a regional strike against the Texas and Pacific Railway, known as the Great Southwest Strike, resulted in numerous violent clashes. The Texas Rangers were even called in to manage the violence between union members and railroad workers.

These events led to a negative public perception of unions and likely initiated the development of Texas’s right-to-work laws, even before the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act of 1947) was enacted.

Today, Texas labor laws protect both the right to unionize and the right of workers to refuse to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Municipality Minimum Wage Laws

As of January 2020, Texas did not permit cities or counties to set minimum wage rates different from the state minimum wage. However, cities like San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin have found ways to increase wages for public and private employees under contract with these cities.

  • Dallas began raising wages for city contract workers in 2015, starting at $10.37 per hour, with the rate tied to MIT’s Wage Calculator.
  • Austin increased the minimum salary for full-time city employees to $15 per hour starting in 2018.
  • San Antonio has also been moving its city worker pay towards $15 per hour over the past few years.

Growing public support and actions by these cities have led to several legislative proposals in the Texas state government to raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour. However, as of February 2020, none of these proposals had become law.

House Bill 328, which was still in committee as of February 2020, would allow cities to set their own local minimum wage ordinances without relying on a statewide increase.

Texas Minimum Wage Exemptions

In addition to federal rules on minimum wage exemptions, Texas exempts certain workers from minimum wage requirements under specific circumstances:

  • Patients and clients of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
  • Individuals with productivity impairments
  • Inmates of the Texas correctional system
  • Some minors

Tipped employees can be paid a lower direct hourly rate before tips, but they must earn at least the minimum wage after tips are included. If not, the employer must make up the difference.

Additionally, Texas exempts the following from state minimum wage rules:

  • Domestic workers (such as babysitters or live-in caregivers) in private homes
  • Employees who are close family members
  • Certain agricultural workers
  • Employees of some religious or non-profit organizations (such as the Boy Scouts)
  • Some entertainment facilities operating for a limited time each year

Texas Posting Requirements

In addition to federally required posters, Texas mandates that employers display certain state-specific posters in a location easily visible to employees. These include:

  • Texas payday law notice
  • State unemployment compensation insurance information
  • Workers’ compensation posters
  • Earned Income Tax Credit information

Public employers must also display information on:

  • Texas Whistleblower Act
  • Texas Hazard Communication Program
  • Job Service complaint system

Required posters:

  • Child Labor
  • Fair Employment (English/Spanish)
  • Ombudsman Notice
  • Payday Notice
  • Unemployment and Payday Law
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Workers’ Compensation (Uninsured)

Additional Posters (Public Sector Only): 

  • Hazcom Notice
  • Whistleblowers’ Protection Act

Tipped Wage in Texas

In Texas, tipped workers who regularly receive more than $20 a month in tips can be paid a lower direct minimum wage rate of $5.12 per hour (as of 2020) before tips.

Mandatory service fees are considered separate from tips under federal law. Any portion of a mandatory service fee given to employees must be treated as wages, not tips.

As with federal law, the combination of tips and the amount paid by the employer must at least equal the standard minimum wage. If it does not, the employer must make up the difference so that the employee receives at least $7.25 per hour.

Additionally, if tipped employees perform some non-tipped duties (such as dishwashing), the employer may apply a tip credit to those non-tipped hours as well, following federal guidelines.

Tip pooling and service fee handling must also adhere to federal rules. Employees cannot be required to turn over any tips to the employer, except as part of a valid tip pool agreement.

Overtime Wage in Texas

Texas adheres to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for overtime pay rules and the classification of exempt or non-exempt employees.

Overtime Pay

  • Non-exempt workers must be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate of time and a half their regular pay rate.
  • If workers have varying pay rates or receive regular bonuses/commissions, the average pay rate must be calculated by adding the total earnings and dividing by the total hours worked.

Salaried Non-Exempt Workers

  • The regular rate of pay is determined by dividing the salary by the intended regular hours worked.
  • For those with a standard workweek over 40 hours, hours over 40 are paid at half-time up to the standard total, and time and a half for hours beyond that.
  • For those with irregular hours, the salary is divided by total hours worked, and half-time is paid for any hours over 40.

Child Labor Laws in Texas

In Texas, individuals under 18 are considered minors for employment purposes, and state laws apply to all businesses, not just those under FLSA regulations.

Minors face specific wage and hour restrictions. Generally, the minimum working age is 14, with exceptions for certain agricultural and entertainment jobs, and when a parent employs their child in a non-hazardous role.

Additional exemptions to the age 14 rule include safe, casual employment, newspaper delivery for those 11 and older, newspaper sales by those at least 16, minors in approved school-supervised work-study programs, court-ordered rehabilitation programs, and minors not required to attend school or working in agriculture.

Anyone under 18 is prohibited from hazardous jobs, with further job type restrictions for those aged 14-15 and 16-17.

Work hour limits differ by age group: 14-15-year-olds cannot work during school hours, while those 16 and older have no such restrictions. However, child labor laws do not exempt minors from local truancy or curfew laws.

In some cases, minors may be paid alternative minimum wage rates. Employers can pay a sub-minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of employment. Additionally, apprentices, qualified student employees, and those with a DOL special license may be paid 85% of the minimum wage.

Employer Recordkeeping Requirements in Texas

Texas generally follows federal recordkeeping requirements, which include:

  • The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Additionally, Texas state discrimination laws mandate that employers retain all personnel records for at least one year after an employee’s separation.

Given the various recordkeeping timelines, Texas advises employers to keep all records for at least seven years post-employment. However, records of hazardous material exposure must be kept for 30 years after the employee leaves.

Texas Labor Law Questions & Answers

Most employers in Texas can require mandatory overtime without any limit on the total hours worked in a workweek, as long as overtime pay rules are followed. However, there are exceptions:

  • As of September 1, 2009, RNs and LVNs can only be required to work mandatory overtime (outside their regular shift schedules) in cases of disasters and emergency situations as defined by the state.
  • Employers of retail workers must allow employees at least one 24-hour period of off time during a seven-day period.
  • Texas protects workers in cases of religious observance, as long as accommodating time off for religious practices does not present an undue hardship.

Minors aged 17 and older can work without any restrictions on the number of hours. For minors aged 14 or 15, there are limits:

  • During school sessions, they can work up to 3 hours on school days and 18 hours per week.
  • During school breaks, they can work up to 8 hours on non-school days and 40 hours per week.
  • They cannot work between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. during school sessions, but can work until 9:00 p.m. during the summer break (if not in summer school).

Texas allows exceptions to these limits if the FLSA does not apply and no interstate commerce is involved, permitting 14- and 15-year-olds to work up to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with extended working hours.

Generally, Texas does not require employers to provide work breaks, although some industry-specific exceptions may apply. According to the FLSA, if short breaks (typically 5 to 20 minutes) are offered, they must be counted as time worked.

Yes, tip pooling is legal in Texas, and employers can require employee participation within certain limits. Employees must be informed about the tip pool in advance, and the pool cannot mix employees from different service chains. Non-tipped employees cannot be included in tip pools to count them as tipped employees.

Texas follows federal rules regarding immigrants working in the United States and does not provide special privileges to undocumented or other immigrants outside of federal law. Naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, and refugees may work in Texas without restrictions. Other immigrants must obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) from the U.S. government before they can work in Texas.

Texas Labor Law Posters

Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters. 

SHOP TEXAS POSTERS NOW
SAFEGEAR Protect
Labor Law Posters