Minimum Wage Rates in Oklahoma

As of July 24, 2009, the new Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour.
Oklahoma follows the Federal minimum wage law.

Is my employer required to pay me at least the Federal minimum wage?

Oklahoma minimum wage law covers you if you work for an:

• Employer of ten or more full-time employees at any one location or,
• Employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 no matter how many full-time employees, and,
• You are at least 18 years old.

The Oklahoma state minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Oklahoma law adopts the Federal minimum wage rate by reference to the Federal statute.

What if I work for the State of Oklahoma or someone who does business with the State?

Every employee of the State of Oklahoma or anyone who does business with the State of Oklahoma is specifically covered by the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Age.

Exceptions to the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Law:

Oklahoma law does not cover individual employees who:

(1) are employed on a farm, and you work cultivating the soil, or raising or harvesting type of animal or crop, including raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and furbearing animals and wildlife, or if you are employed bythe owner or tenant or other operator of a farm and you are connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment;

(2) are employed in domestic service in or about a private home;

(3) are employed by the United States government;

(4) work as a volunteer in a charitable, religious or other nonprofit organization;

(5) are newspaper vendors or carriers;

(6) are employees of any carrier subject to regulation by Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act;

(7) are employees of any employer covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act or to any Federal Wage and Hour Law and are paid minimum wage;

(8) executives, administrators or professionals, or work as outside salesman;

(9) are part-time, not on permanent status. "Part-time" means that you are employed less than twenty-five (25) hours a week;

(10) are less than eighteen (18) years of age and are not high school graduates or graduates of a vocational training program, or if you are less than twenty-two (22) years of age and are a student regularly enrolled in a high school, college, university or vocational training program;

(11) are individuals employed in a feedstore operated primarily for the benefit and use of farmers and ranchers; or,

(12) are individuals working as a reserve force deputy sheriff.

Oklahoma state law does not cover any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

You may fall under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act law if:

• You are employed by an "enterprise."
  This meansyou are an employee of a company or organization that
• • has two or more employees and,
  • does at least $500,000 a year in business,
  • or is a hospital,
  • or a businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, or
  • a school, a preschool or a government agency.

OR

• Your work regularly involves you in commerce between states.
  Making goods to be shipped out of state, regularly making telephone calls to people located in other states, handling the records of interstate transactions, traveling to other states for jobs, and doing janitorial work in buildings where goods are produced for shipment outside the state

OR

• You are a domestic service worker.

Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

If the FLSA applies to you in your particular situation and you are planning to file a claim, you must find out whether you are required to use a "negotiated grievance procedure."

The laws that help you determine this are complicated and you may need the help of an attorney what kind of claim to file and what the procedure is for the agency with whom you may file the claim.

This FLSA Claim Decisions Table might help you. It's found on the US Office of Personnel Management web site: http://www.opm.gov/flsa/table.asp

Can my employer and I agree on less than minimum wage?

Oklahoma follows the Federal minimum wage law, but also requires that all employees are required to pay employees who are at least 18 years old, at least $2.00 per hour. You might have signed an agreement with your employer saying that you will work for less than minimum wage.

But, if you are protected by the Oklahoma minimum wage law or the FLSA, you still have the right to be paid at least the federal minimum wage.

Any agreement to work for less than $2.00 or less than minimum wage if you are qualified is void and has no legal effect on your rights, should you choose to file a claim against your employer.

These laws are complex. Which employers must pay you minimum wage and what qualifies you as employee can be hard to figure out.

Please talk with a lawyer or contact the Oklahoma State Department of Labor, if you have questions about your rights to be paid a minimum wage in Oklahoma or if you want to file a wage claim.

https://www.ok.gov/odol/Employment_Issues/Wage_and_Hour/index.html