As of 2026, Nebraska's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour for most employees, well above the federal floor of $7.25 set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That figure is the final step of a series of voter-approved increases under Initiative 433, which Nebraska voters passed in November 2022. The measure raised the wage in annual steps - $10.50 in 2023, $12.00 in 2024, $13.50 in 2025, and $15.00 effective January 1, 2026. Beginning January 1, 2027, Nebraska's minimum wage is scheduled to increase each year based on the cost of living, so the rate will no longer be a fixed number. For tipped workers, Nebraska allows a much lower cash wage of $2.13 per hour, with tips expected to bring the worker up to the full minimum.
Nebraska's Minimum Wage vs. the Federal $7.25
The FLSA establishes a national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, a figure that has not changed since 2009. States are free to set a higher minimum, and Nebraska has done exactly that. Because Nebraska's $15.00 rate exceeds the federal baseline, the higher state rate is what nearly all Nebraska employers must pay. When a state and federal wage law both apply, the law more generous to the worker controls, so Nebraska employees are entitled to the state rate.
Nebraska's minimum wage is set in state statute (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1203) as amended by Initiative 433. The jump from $9.00 (the rate before 2023) to $15.00 over just three years represented one of the larger wage increases adopted by any state during that period. The 2027 cost-of-living adjustments will be calculated by reference to the Consumer Price Index, meaning the rate should rise modestly each year to keep pace with inflation rather than staying frozen for long stretches the way the federal wage has.
Who Is Covered - and the Small-Employer Exception
Nebraska's minimum wage law applies to employers with four or more employees at any one time. Businesses with fewer than four employees are not covered by the state minimum wage statute. That said, many small employers are still subject to the federal FLSA minimum of $7.25 if they engage in interstate commerce or meet the FLSA's enterprise-coverage tests, so very few workers fall outside both laws entirely.
The law also contains a training-wage provision. Nebraska permits employers to pay a reduced wage to certain new, young employees for a limited initial period - historically set at 75% of the applicable minimum wage for employees younger than 20 during their first 90 days of employment. Because the precise terms and percentages can be affected by amendments, confirm the current training-wage rule and the exact dollar figure with the Nebraska Department of Labor before relying on it.
Tipped Workers and the Tip Credit
Nebraska allows employers of tipped workers to pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour - the same cash wage used under federal law. The difference between that cash wage and the full $15.00 minimum is made up through a "tip credit." In practice, this means a server, bartender, or other tipped employee must actually receive enough in tips so that their cash wage plus tips averages at least the full Nebraska minimum wage for each pay period.
If a tipped employee's tips plus the $2.13 cash wage do not reach $15.00 per hour, the employer is legally required to make up the shortfall. The tip credit is the gap the employer is allowed to claim - currently the difference between $2.13 and $15.00 - but only if the worker's actual tips cover it. A tipped employee who is told to share tips improperly, who is not paid the make-up amount in a slow week, or whose employer keeps any portion of the tips may have a wage claim. Tips are the property of the employee, not the employer.
Overtime in Nebraska
Nebraska does not have its own overtime statute, so overtime for Nebraska workers is governed by the federal FLSA. Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees must be paid one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Nebraska does not require daily overtime (there is no "over 8 hours in a day" rule), and it does not mandate premium pay for weekends or holidays. For tipped employees, overtime is calculated on the full minimum wage, not on the $2.13 cash wage, which is a point employers sometimes get wrong.