The Mississippi Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer can legally pay. The federal rate serves as a baseline, and states, cities, and regions can adopt their own higher rates.

The current statewide rate is $7.25 per hour for covered employees.

Mississippi does not have a state-set minimum wage law. Mississippi employers are governed only by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets the $7.25 per hour minimum.

There are no Mississippi cities with a higher minimum wage because local governments are preempted from creating them. Under Mississippi state law (Miss. Code Ann. section 17-1-51), counties and municipalities are prohibited from establishing any local or mandatory living wage rates that regulate private employers. The federal $7.25 rate applies across the entire state.

The tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly base pay for eligible employees. Because Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, employers are governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, tipped employees are those who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.

The current rate is $2.13 per hour minimum cash wage for eligible tipped employees.

Employers may take a tip credit of up to $5.12 per hour, meaning the $2.13 cash wage plus the employee's actual tips must equal or exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for the workweek. If the combined total falls short, the employer must pay the difference. Employers cannot use this tipped wage rate unless they have given prior formal notice of the tip credit provisions to the employee.

Mississippi does not have its own state overtime laws, so employers are governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Under the FLSA, covered non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay of at least one and one-half times their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 within a single 7-day workweek.

Under federal law, the regular rate of pay used for this calculation must include the base hourly wage as well as any non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, or commissions earned during that workweek.

Mississippi wage and hour laws do not require employers to provide meal periods or rest breaks to employees of any age, so Mississippi employers follow federal rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The FLSA does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks. If an employer chooses to offer them, the following federal payment rules apply:

• Rest breaks: short breaks (usually 20 minutes or less) must be counted as compensable working time and paid at the employee's regular rate.
• Meal periods: bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid, provided the employee is completely relieved of all work duties during the entire period.

Under federal law, an employee does not have to be permitted to leave the premises for a meal period to be unpaid, as long as they are entirely freed from active or inactive work duties.

Vacation leave

Mississippi does not require employers to provide paid time off; employers may offer vacation leave at their discretion. There is no state statute governing vacation pay, but if an employer establishes a written policy or contract offering paid vacation, they are bound to follow their own rules on accrual limits, usage, and payout of unused time upon termination.

Paid sick leave

Mississippi has no state laws requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. Employers may set their own internal sick leave policies. Because the state does not mandate sick leave, Mississippi employers must still comply with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying medical and family reasons.

Holidays

Mississippi state law does not require private employers to provide paid holidays, unpaid holiday leave, or premium pay for working on a holiday. Any holiday time off or additional holiday compensation is offered strictly at the employer's discretion.

Because Mississippi state law applies only to highly specific, archaic industries such as mills and canneries, the vast majority of modern Mississippi employers are governed only by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Minimum working age

• Under 14 years old: generally prohibited from working in non-agricultural employment, with very limited federal exceptions (for example, acting, delivering newspapers, or working for a business entirely owned by their parents).
• 14 and 15 year olds: may work in retail, food service, and non-hazardous clerical roles. While Mississippi state law technically outlines rules for 14- and 15-year-olds in manufacturing, the federal FLSA strictly prohibits minors under 16 from working in any manufacturing, mining, or hazardous occupations. Employers must follow the stricter federal ban.

Limits on working hours (14- and 15-year-olds)

Because Mississippi employers must follow the stricter federal FLSA standards, 14- and 15-year-old employees cannot work:

• During standard school hours.
• More than 3 hours on a school day or 18 hours in a school week.
• More than 8 hours on a non-school day or 40 hours in a non-school week.
• Before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, evening hours are extended to 9:00 p.m.

Permits and record keeping

Mississippi does not require state-issued work permits or school certificates for minors working in general retail, office, or hospitality roles. Under federal FLSA recordkeeping rules, employers must keep accurate records of a minor employee's date of birth to protect against employing underage workers.

Mississippi state statutes still technically require school affidavits for minors working in exempt agricultural canneries, but these do not apply to standard private-sector businesses.