What is the current minimum wage?

Effective July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

In Nevada it’s a bit different. An amendment to the Nevada Constitution sets up a two-tiered minimum wage system. Employees who are offered qualifying health benefits can be paid the lower tier minimum wage. Employees who are not offered qualifying health benefits must be paid the higher tier minimum wage.

Assembly Bill 456, which was passed in 2019, provided for a $0.75 increase to the minimum wage each year until the minimum wage reaches $12.00 per hour for employees who are not offered qualifying health benefits by their employer, and $11.00 per hour for employees who are offered qualifying health benefits by their employer. The increases began in 2020.

The chart below outlines the minimum wage rate increases.

Effective
July 1, 2020
Effective
July 1, 2021
Effective
July 1, 2022
Effective
July 1, 2023
Effective
July 1, 2024
Lower Tier$8.00$8.75$9.50$10.25$11.00
Higher Tier$9.00$9.75$10.50$11.25$12.00

When must an employer pay overtime?

Federal law requires overtime pay only when an employee works more than 40 hours in a workweek. Nevada law requires overtime pay after 40 hours in a workweek and after 8 hours in a workday.

For purposes of Nevada law, a workday is defined as a period of 24 consecutive hours which begins when the employee begins work.

What is the rate of pay for overtime?

When an employee earns less than 1.5 times the minimum wage rate, the employee must receive 1.5 times his or her rate of pay whenever he or she works more than 40 hours in any scheduled week of work, or more than 8 hours in any workday (“daily overtime”) unless by mutual agreement the employee works a scheduled 10 hours per day for 4 calendar days within any scheduled week of work (a “4-10s” schedule). When an employee earns at least 1.5 times the minimum wage rate, the employee must receive 1.5 times his or her rate of pay whenever he or she works more than 40 hours in any scheduled week.

The chart below details the thresholds for daily overtime.

Effective
July 1, 2020
Effective
July 1, 2021
Effective
July 1, 2022
Effective
July 1, 2023
Effective
July 1, 2024
Lower Tier
Minimum Wage
$12.00$13.13$14.25$15.38$16.50
Higher Tier
Minimum Wage
$13.50$14.63$15.75$16.88$18.00

Are employers required to give their employees rest breaks?

Yes. Nevada law requires employers to permit their employees to take at least one (1) paid 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours worked, or major fraction thereof. No rest period is required for employees who work less than 3.5 hours. Please refer to the chart below in determining how many rest periods an employee is entitled to based on the number of continuous hours worked.

Number of Continuous Hours Worked**Number of Required Rest Periods
Less than 3.5 hoursNo rest period required
At least 3.5 hours, but less than 7 hoursOne 10-minute rest period
At least 7 hours, but less than 11 hoursTwo 10-minute rest periods
At least 11 hours, but less than 15 hoursThree 10-minute rest periods
At least 15 hours, but less than 19 hoursFour 10-minute rest periods

**An unpaid meal period is not considered when determining the number of hours worked by an employee for the purposes of rest periods.

Are employers required to give their employees lunch breaks?

Yes. In Nevada, an employer shall not employ an employee for a continuous period of 8 hours without permitting the employee to have an uninterrupted meal period of at least 30 minutes. Meal periods may be paid or unpaid.

Are there are exceptions to the rules regarding meal and/or rest periods?

Yes. An employer is not obligated to provide meal or rest periods as outlined above in two situations:

  • Where only one person is employed at a particular place of employment
  • For employees within the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)

NOTE: An employee may voluntarily agree to forego any rest period or meal period. The employer has the burden to prove the existence of such an agreement.

What is meant by “exempt” and “non-exempt”?

Let’s keep it simple – unless an employee meets the requirements for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), they are considered non-exempt. Non-exempt employees must be paid at least minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime when overtime is worked.

Exempt employees are, as the name suggests, exempt from both the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the FLSA. To qualify for exemption, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and salary.

  • Salary Test: Employees must be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week ($35,568 annually).
  • Job Duties Test: There are seven classes of potentially exempt employees outlined in the FLSA: executiveadministrative, learned professionals, creative professionals, computeroutside sales, and highly compensated. Each class has its own requirements that must be met in order to be deemed exempt.  Job titles do not determine exempt status.

How soon must an employer pay an employee who is discharged or laid off?

Whenever an employer discharges an employee, the wages and compensation earned and unpaid at the time of such discharge shall become due and payable immediately. However, payment is not considered late and employers are not penalized until 3 days after the wages or compensation becomes due.

How soon must an employer pay an employee who quits or resigns?

Whenever an employee resigns, the wages and compensation earned and unpaid at the time of his/her resignation must be paid no later than the day on which he/her would have regularly been paid or within 7 days, which ever is earlier.

Under what circumstances may an employer withhold a portion of an employee’s paycheck?

Without specific authorization from the employee, employers may make deductions from an employee’s paycheck for (1) any amount required by law (i.e. taxes, child support, etc.) and (2) contributions to a benefit program (i.e. health insurance, pension plan, etc.).

In order to make other deductions from an employee’s paycheck, the following conditions must be met:

  • The employer has a reasonable basis to believe the employee is responsible for the amount to be deducted.
  • The deduction is for a specific purpose, pay period/date, and amount.
  • The employee voluntarily authorizes, in writing, the employer to deduct the amount from their wage.

Nevada law specifically prohibits the use of a blanket authorizations made in advance to withhold any amount from wages due to the employee. 

How often must employees be paid?

Wages must be paid at least semi-monthly (twice per month). Nothing prohibits employers from paying more frequently.

Can tips be applied towards minimum wage?

No. Nevada law does not allow tips to be applied as credit toward the requirement to pay minimum wage.

Can an employer decrease the compensation of an employee?

Yes, however, employers must provide written notice of the decrease no less than 7 days before the employee performs any work at the decreased wage, salary, or compensation.

Are employers required to provide paid leave?

As of January 1, 2020, employers with 50 or more Nevada employees must provide 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour worked. This leave must be provided to all scheduled employees (full-time and part-time), but does not include temporary, seasonal, or on-call employees. This paid leave can be used for any reason and must be available for use beginning on the 90th day of employment.

Does an employer have to pay an employee unused vacation or other accrued leave upon termination of employment?

No. Nevada law does not require employers to pay any unused vacation, sick leave, PTO, or other accrued leave upon termination of employment. However, employers can choose to do so by policy.

Can an employer require an employee to purchase uniforms?

No. Nevada law requires that all uniforms or accessories distinctive in style, color, or material shall be furnished, without cost, to employees by their employer.

What is meant by “employment-at-will”?

Employment-at-will is a doctrine or philosophy which maintains that either the employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.

Nevada is considered an employment-at-will state. However, employers should use caution when applying this doctrine, as it may conflict with progressive disciplinary policies or past practices, or conflict with anti-discrimination or contractual laws.

What is meant by “right to work”?

Right to work laws prohibit any person from being denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization. Nevada is a right to work state.

Is an employer required to allow employees to leave work to vote?

Yes. Nevada law requires employers to provide employees with sufficient time off to vote if it is impractical for them to do so before or after work. This leave must be paid and the employee cannot be disciplined, discharged, or otherwise penalized for taking leave to vote. 

Sufficient time off to vote is defined based on distance between the employee’s place of employment and the employee’s designated polling place. 

Distance Between Work
and Polling Place
Amount of Time Off
to Vote
2 miles or less1 hour
More than 2 miles, but less than 10 miles2 hours
More than 10 miles3 hours

Is an employer required to give employees time off for jury duty?

Yes. It is illegal for an employer to discharge, or threaten to discharge an employee as a consequence of his/her service as a juror or prospective juror. Although an employee’s position and benefits must be maintained, an employer is not required to pay wages during his/her service as a juror or prospective juror.

An employer may not require the employee to use sick leave or vacation time for the period of jury service. Further employers cannot require the employee to work: (1) within 8 hours of when the employees is to appear for jury duty; or (2) return to work between 5pm on the day of jury service and 3am the following day if their service has lasted for 4 hours or more (including commuting time).

Is an employer required to give employees time off to attend school conferences?

Yes. It is unlawful for an employer to terminate or threaten to terminate the employment of a person who, as the parent, guardian, or custodian of a child, either appears at a conference requested by an administrator of the school or is notified of an emergency regarding the child.

Additionally, employers with 50 or more employees must grant 4 hours of leave per school year, per child, to parents, guardians, and custodians of children to participate in certain school activities. Those activities include, parent-teacher conferences, school-related activities during school hours, school-sponsored events, and volunteering or involvement in school activities during regular school hours.

Is an employer required to give employees time off when they have been summoned to attend a court proceeding?

Yes. It is unlawful for an employer to terminate or threaten to terminate the employment of a person who is a witness or who has received a summons to appear as a witness in a judicial or administrative proceeding.