Guides

Arkansas restaurant pay rules (2026): what to pay tipped and non-tipped staff

Mays TeamOctober 28, 2026
The Time Clock page in Mays for a Little Rock location on September 24, 2026: four people on the clock, today's shifts with their scheduled and actual times, and the current pay period

Arkansas's minimum wage is $11.00 an hour. Voters set it in 2018, it reached that rate on January 1, 2021, and nothing in the law raises it again (Initiated Act 5 of 2018). The state law also reaches employers the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers, as long as they have 4 or more employees, and an employer under both pays the higher rate (Ark. Division of Labor). Tipped staff can be paid $2.63 an hour in cash wages, a tip credit of $8.37, and Arkansas adds a rule of its own for side work: 20 minutes of it in an hour makes that whole hour a full-wage hour (11 CAR Part 11).

This page puts Arkansas's figures in one place. It covers what you owe tipped staff like servers and bartenders, what you owe everyone else, and two example weeks with the math shown. Every figure links to the official page it comes from.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a rule applies can depend on your business's size and your own facts; the note at the end says more.

Arkansas pay rules at a glance

As of October 28, 2026:

Rule

Arkansas

Minimum wage

$11.00 an hour, since January 1, 2021

Tipped employees: minimum cash wage

$2.63 an hour, if you take the tip credit

Maximum tip credit

$8.37 an hour

Who counts as tipped

Waiters, waitresses and bellhops who receive and keep tips; in other jobs, more than $20 a month in tips (Arkansas law); more than $30 a month for an employer the federal law covers

Overtime

1.5× the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek; no daily overtime

Meal and rest breaks for adults

Not required by Arkansas or federal law

Next change

None scheduled

Sources: Ark. Division of Labor; 11 CAR Part 11; US DOL, tipped wages by state; US DOL, state meal periods; US DOL, state rest periods.

Nothing on the ballot. None of the statewide measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot is about wages, and no citizen initiative was certified for it (Ark. Secretary of State, ballot measures).

Who counts as a tipped employee in Arkansas

In Arkansas, waiters, waitresses and bellhops count as tipped employees because of their job, as long as they actually receive and keep tips. In any other job, someone counts once they receive more than $20 a month in tips (11 CAR Part 11). An employer the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers must also meet the federal test to pay less than the federal minimum wage: more than $30 a month in tips (US DOL, tipped wages by state).

In a restaurant that usually means servers, bartenders, bussers and counter staff who serve customers, including baristas who get tips. Cooks and dishwashers usually aren't tipped employees. Only tips the employee actually receives count. If someone works two jobs, say a server who also works prep shifts, the tip credit applies only to the hours in the tipped job (DOL Fact Sheet #15).

What you must pay tipped staff in Arkansas

Servers, bartenders, bussers and baristas who get tips can be paid a lower cash wage, with part of their tips counted toward the minimum wage. That's the tip credit, and it comes with conditions:

  • Pay at least $2.63 an hour in cash wages. That's the $11.00 minimum wage minus the most you can credit from tips, $8.37 (Ark. Division of Labor).
  • Cash wages plus tips must reach $11.00 for every hour worked, week by week. If tips fall short in a workweek, you pay the difference by the regular payday for that week (DOL Fact Sheet #15).
  • Tell them first. Before you take the tip credit, tell each tipped employee, in writing or out loud: the cash wage you pay, the tip credit you claim, that the credit can't be more than the tips they actually get, that they keep all their tips except through a valid tip pool, and that the credit doesn't apply unless you've told them all this (DOL Fact Sheet #15).
  • Overtime is figured on the full minimum wage. An overtime hour is worth 1.5 × $11.00 = $16.50. After the $8.37 tip credit, you pay at least $8.13 of it in cash wages (DOL Fact Sheet #15).

You don't have to take the tip credit. If you pay tipped staff the full $11.00 an hour, their tips are all on top, there's nothing to make up at the end of the week, and you can put kitchen staff in the tip pool (see below).

Arkansas's own tip rules

  • The 20-minute rule. When a tipped employee spends 20 minutes or more of an hour on a job where tips aren't part of the pay, that whole hour is paid at least the full $11.00, with no tip credit (11 CAR Part 11).
  • Tell them in writing when the credit changes. The tip credit you take per hour is reported to the employee in writing each time it changes from the week before, and without tip records you can lose the credit (11 CAR Part 11).

What you must pay non-tipped staff in Arkansas

Cooks, dishwashers, prep cooks, and cashiers or counter staff who don't get tips are paid like any other hourly employee:

  • At least $11.00 an hour for every hour worked (Ark. Division of Labor). No tip credit applies.
  • The same goes for a tipped employee's hours in a non-tipped job, like a server's prep shift (DOL Fact Sheet #15).
  • Overtime is at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. At $11.00 an hour, that's $16.50 (Ark. Division of Labor).

Worked examples (made-up numbers)

The names, hours and tips below are made up. The rates are Arkansas's as of October 28, 2026.

A server's week: when you have to top up

Sam is a server paid the $2.63 cash wage. He works 33 hours in each of two weeks: a busy one with $480.00 in tips and a slow one with $180.00.


Busy week

Slow week

Hours worked

33

33

Cash wages (33 × $2.63)

$86.79

$86.79

Tips received

$480.00

$180.00

Cash wages + tips

$566.79

$266.79

Minimum for the week (33 × $11.00)

$363.00

$363.00

You pay on top

$0.00

$96.21

In the slow week, $180.00 in tips covers only part of the $276.21 tip credit (33 × $8.37), so you pay the difference by the regular payday: $363.00 − $266.79 = $96.21. In the busy week you owe nothing extra, and every dollar of tips is still Sam's.

A cook's week with overtime

Ana is a line cook paid the Arkansas minimum wage, $11.00 an hour. Over five days she works 8, 10, 10, 9 and 8 hours: 45 hours in all.


Hours

Rate

Pay

Regular hours

40

$11.00

$440.00

Overtime hours (over 40)

5

$16.50 (1.5 × $11.00)

$82.50

Total

45


$522.50

Overtime is counted by the workweek, and hours can't be averaged across two weeks: a long week earns overtime even if the next one is short (US DOL, overtime). Bonuses can change the rate too; see Time clock, breaks and overtime: first-month payroll mistakes to avoid.

Tip pooling rules in Arkansas

Arkansas has its own tip-pool rules (11 CAR Part 11): Arkansas rules recognize tip splitting and employer-administered pools on a basis the employees have agreed among themselves; what each employee keeps counts as that employee’s tips. The rules do not define who may be in a pool, and do not address managers or card fees, so federal FLSA limits govern those points.

Federal rules apply too, and where the two differ, follow the stricter one (US DOL, tips):

  • The business, its managers and supervisors never keep employees' tips. A manager can't take anything from a pool; they may keep only tips for service they directly and solely provide. An owner with a real stake who helps run the business counts as a manager too.
  • With a tip credit, a pool you require can include only staff who customarily and regularly receive tips: servers, bartenders, bussers, counter staff who serve customers.
  • Without a tip credit, when everyone in the pool gets at least the full minimum wage, you can include cooks and dishwashers.
  • Card fees: you may reduce a card tip by the percentage the card company actually charges you, and no more (DOL Fact Sheet #15).
  • Service charges: under federal law, a mandatory service charge isn't a tip: money you share from one is wages, and it counts in the regular rate for overtime (DOL Fact Sheet #15). Arkansas adds its own rule: A compulsory service charge (e.g. 10% of the bill) is not a tip and cannot be counted as a tip, even if the employer distributes it to employees (11 CAR Part 11).
  • Pay pooled tips out by the regular payday for the week or pay period (DOL Fact Sheet #15).

How to split a pool fairly, with a worked example: Tip pooling for new restaurant owners.

Overtime in Arkansas

Arkansas's overtime law draws the same line as the federal one (Ark. Division of Labor): non-exempt employees get at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (US DOL, overtime).

A workweek is any fixed, recurring stretch of seven days that you choose, and hours can't be averaged across two weeks. There's no daily overtime, no double time and no seventh-day premium under Arkansas or federal law, and weekend or holiday hours don't earn a premium by law.

For tipped staff, overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage (see the tipped section above).

Breaks in Arkansas

  • Meal breaks: No specific Arkansas rule found — federal rules apply (US DOL, state meal periods). The FLSA does not require meal periods. A bona fide meal period (typically 30+ minutes) is not work time (US DOL, breaks).
  • Rest breaks: No specific Arkansas rule found — federal rules apply (US DOL, state rest periods). The FLSA does not require breaks. Short breaks an employer offers (about 5 to 20 minutes) are paid work time (US DOL, breaks).
  • Minors: No separate Arkansas rule for minors; the adult rules above apply to them too (US DOL, state meal periods).

Other Arkansas rules that affect pay

  • Paid sick leave: No specific Arkansas rule found — federal rules apply (Act 643 of 2017). No federal paid sick leave requirement. The FMLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave (up to 12 weeks) where it applies (US DOL, sick leave).
  • Food handler training: A certified food protection manager is required, not a card for every employee. Who: at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service (new establishments have 12 months from the permit) (Ark. retail food rules).

Paydays, final pay and deductions

  • Paydays. A corporation pays its employees at least twice a month (Act 475 of 2017).
  • Final pay. Someone you let go is paid everything due by the next regular payday, and if you haven't paid within 7 days of it, you owe double the wages due (Act 853 of 2019).
  • Deductions below the minimum wage. Spoilage or breakage, cash or inventory shortages, and fines for lateness, misconduct or quitting without notice can't come out of the minimum wage (11 CAR Part 11).
  • Uniforms with your logo. Clothing with the business's logo is for the employer's benefit, so it can't count toward wages (11 CAR Part 11).
  • Students. A full-time student can be paid at least 85% of the minimum wage with a certificate from the state Division of Labor (11 CAR Part 11).

Teenagers and alcohol

  • No work permits. Since August 1, 2023, employers don't need a child labor work permit (Ark. Division of Labor, child labor).
  • Under 16. No more than 8 hours a day, 48 a week or 6 days a week, and only between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. before a day without school); no cooking, except at a lunch counter, snack bar or soda fountain, and no baking (11 CAR Part 12). The federal limits for 14- and 15-year-olds during the school year are tighter, and an employer the FLSA covers follows those too (DOL Fact Sheet #43).
  • Age 16. No more than 10 hours a day or 54 a week, and not after 11 p.m. (midnight before a day without school). A 16-year-old can't work between midnight and 6 a.m. in a restaurant unless it's locked or only the drive-through is open (11 CAR Part 12).
  • Alcohol. At a restaurant with an alcohol permit, servers can be 19 or older but can't tend bar (Ark. ABC, FAQs; Ark. ABC rulebook), and Arkansas doesn't require server training (Ark. ABC, FAQs).

Local rates in Arkansas

Arkansas law bars cities and counties from requiring private employers to pay a minimum wage other than the state or federal one, or to provide employment benefits, such as paid sick leave, that state or federal law doesn't require (Act 643 of 2017). The same 2017 act covers days off, paid or unpaid, and scheduling notice, attendance and leave policies. So the state's $11.00 minimum wage applies everywhere in Arkansas, and there's no local rate table for Arkansas.

How Mays helps

Mays runs the schedule, time clock, tip pool and payroll export for each location. For Arkansas pay rules, that means:

  • Positions and wages. Give each position a default hourly wage, for example the tipped cash wage for servers and at least the minimum wage for cooks. Turn on Labor law compliance and Mays looks up each location's minimum wage from its address and warns you when a position's default wage, someone's hourly wage or a punch is below it, comparing tipped positions with the tipped cash wage when it has that figure. It never blocks the save.
  • A tip pool per location. Split pooled tips by hours worked, equally or by FTAR score, per pay period or day by day, and choose which positions receive. Until you pick positions under Who receives, the positions marked Tipped share the tips; if no position is marked, everyone who worked does, cooks included. So if you take a tip credit, tick Tipped position only on positions whose staff get tips, or pick them yourself. A punch with no position counts under its shift's position, or else the person's primary or only position at that location; with neither, its hours get no share, and the tip pool card shows how many punches that leaves out. Leave managers and admins out of the pool is on by default, so leave it on. The tips come from your connected POS at that location (Square or Union) or from tips synced with 7shifts time punches, and each person's share appears in the Tip Payouts report and the payroll export. With Labor law compliance on, Mays can take your card processor's fee out of card tips, but check Arkansas's rule before you turn that on: the tip pool card links the official source.
  • The tip-credit make-up is yours to check. Mays doesn't compare a tipped employee's cash wages plus tips with the minimum wage, so check each workweek the way the server example above does.
  • Time clock and timesheets. Staff clock in on their phone, a shared kiosk or an NFC tag. Timesheets run by pay period. Overtime is counted by the workweek, and with Labor law compliance on, by any daily, double-time and seventh-day rule the location's state sets too, which Mays reads from its address; the schedule's labor cost, the reports and the pay summary all include it.
  • Payroll export. A standard CSV or a Gusto-format CSV with regular and overtime hours and pooled tips for each employee. A card surcharge you share with staff goes in as wages, not tips.
  • Food protection manager certificate. Turn on Labor law compliance and keep your certified manager's certificate in Mays with its expiry date. Each location shows whether someone there holds a valid one, and Mays reminds them and their managers before it expires.
  • Who's on the clock right now. Scheduling → Time Clock shows who is on the clock at a location and today's shifts, above the list of pay periods, so a missed punch-out can be fixed before final pay is due. Mays doesn't count minutes of side work inside a tipped hour, so apply the 20-minute rule yourself.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these official pages, as they read on the date shown.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and coverage rules (your business's size, whether federal law covers you) decide which of them apply. Check the pages above, and ask an employment lawyer or accountant about your situation.

Run Arkansas payroll on the right numbers

Set each position's wage, turn on the tip pool with managers left out, and let the time clock count overtime by the workweek. Then payroll is an export, not an evening.

Start your free trial: 30 days, every module, no card needed. Setting up a tip pool? Read Tip pooling for new restaurant owners.