Mississippi Minimum Wage 2026: What Employers Owe

The Mississippi minimum wage in 2026 is the federal rate of $7.25 per hour, since Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Without a state statute setting its own floor, Mississippi payroll defaults entirely to federal wage and hour rules. Here is what employers running payroll in Mississippi need to know for 2026.

Mississippi Minimum Wage vs. Federal Minimum Wage

Because Mississippi has not enacted its own minimum wage statute, there is no state rate to reconcile against the federal number and no separate state schedule to track. The federal $7.25 rate is the operative wage floor for covered employers.

This does not mean Mississippi employers face zero wage floor risk. Federal FLSA coverage itself depends on factors like the employer's annual revenue and whether the business engages in interstate commerce. Employers who assume FLSA coverage does not apply to them should confirm that assessment rather than treating it as settled, since misclassifying coverage status is itself a compliance risk independent of the wage rate question.

Overtime Rules in Mississippi

Mississippi has no state overtime law, so employers follow federal FLSA rules: nonexempt employees earn 1.5x their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. There is no daily overtime trigger under federal rules.

The regular rate calculation used for overtime must include all non-discretionary compensation earned in the workweek, not just the base hourly wage. Shift differentials, non-discretionary bonuses, and certain incentive pay all factor into the calculation. Mississippi employers who calculate overtime strictly off a posted hourly rate, without folding in other compensation earned in the same week, risk underpaying overtime under federal law.

Sick Leave and Paid Family Leave in Mississippi

Mississippi does not mandate paid sick leave or a state paid family and medical leave program. Employers that choose to offer these benefits do so voluntarily, and any federal protections, such as unpaid leave under FMLA for eligible employers and employees, still apply independently of state law.

Because there is no state-mandated leave program, employers designing their own voluntary sick leave or paid time off policy have considerable flexibility in Mississippi, but that flexibility cuts both ways: there is no state framework to fall back on if a policy is poorly documented. Employers offering voluntary paid leave benefits should still apply their written policy consistently to avoid discrimination claims, even though no state law compels the benefit in the first place.

Tipped Wages and Local Ordinances

Tipped employee wage rules follow federal guidelines in the absence of a state minimum wage law, and local ordinances can still exist or change at the city or county level. Before running payroll for tipped staff or assuming no local minimum wage applies to your location, verify current requirements through the U.S. DOL state labor office contacts directory.

Tip credit reconciliation should still happen every pay period under federal rules. If a tipped employee's cash wage plus reported tips falls short of the full federal minimum wage in a given week, the employer owes the difference for that week, regardless of the absence of a state minimum wage law.

What This Means for Payroll Compliance

Operating under the federal wage floor does not mean payroll compliance is simple. Federal FLSA classification rules, overtime calculations, and recordkeeping requirements still apply in full, and any future change to the federal minimum wage would flow directly through to every Mississippi employer with no state buffer.

Employers with a multi-state workforce should also be careful not to assume Mississippi's federal-only wage floor applies to employees working in other states. Each state needs to be evaluated on its own terms, and Mississippi's relative simplicity does not extend to other jurisdictions.

BEG runs payroll for Mississippi employers with federal wage and hour rules applied correctly on every check, all included in a single all-inclusive PEPM rate.

Frequently Asked Questions