What is Richmond's minimum wage?

Richmond follows the Virginia state minimum wage of $12.00 per hour. There is no separate city minimum wage, so the state floor applies to most employees citywide.

How is overtime calculated?

Under the Virginia Overtime Wage Act, which tracks the federal FLSA, hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5x the regular rate. Virginia has no daily-overtime rule, so only the weekly total matters.

How does the tip credit work?

For tipped workers, the employer may pay a lower cash wage as long as cash wage plus tips reach the full $12.00 minimum. If they fall short, the employer must make up the difference.

Does this include taxes?

No. The result is gross pay before federal and Virginia income tax, Social Security, and Medicare withholding. Net take-home pay will be lower after deductions.

What if my rate is below $12.00?

If you enter a non-tipped rate below $12.00, the tool flags it as below the Virginia minimum. Most employees must be paid at least the state minimum regardless of agreement.

What is the Richmond Minimum Wage & Overtime Calculator?

Compute Richmond, VA weekly gross pay at the $12.00/hr Virginia minimum wage, with overtime at 1.5x for hours over 40 per week and tipped-worker tip-credit checks that ensure cash wage plus tips reach the full minimum. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Richmond Minimum Wage & Overtime Calculator

Name: Richmond Minimum Wage & Overtime Calculator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Know your real Richmond paycheck

Hourly workers in Richmond, VA earn at least the Virginia minimum wage of $12.00/hr, and overtime can meaningfully change a weekly check. This calculator splits your hours into regular and overtime, applies the 1.5x premium, and — for tipped roles — verifies your tip credit actually reaches the legal minimum.

How it works

The tool separates your weekly hours at the 40-hour threshold and prices each bucket:

regular hours  = min(hours, 40)
overtime hours = max(hours - 40, 0)
regular pay    = regular hours * rate
overtime pay   = overtime hours * rate * 1.5
gross weekly   = regular pay + overtime pay

For tipped workers it also checks the tip credit: cash wage + average tips must be at least $12.00. If the combined figure falls short, the employer owes the shortfall across your regular hours.

Tips and example

At $12.00/hr for 45 hours, you earn 40 * 12 = 480 in regular pay plus 5 * 12 * 1.5 = 90 in overtime, for 570 gross. A tipped server paid $8.00/hr cash who averages $3.00/hr in tips reaches only $11.00/hr, below the $12.00 minimum — the tool flags the gap and estimates the employer make-up.

Overtime in Virginia is weekly only; long single days do not trigger overtime unless your weekly total passes 40 hours.

Virginia’s minimum wage schedule and what comes next

Virginia set a phased minimum wage increase schedule. The $12.00 rate in effect as of 2023 represented a significant step up from prior years. Virginia law also includes a provision to raise the minimum wage further subject to legislative action, with $15.00 as a stated goal. Workers and employers in Richmond should check the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (doli.virginia.gov) for the current rate, since the schedule can be updated by the General Assembly.

How the tip credit works in Richmond’s restaurant industry

Richmond’s restaurant and hospitality sector relies heavily on tipped workers. Under Virginia law, employers may pay a lower cash wage to tipped employees — historically around $2.13/hour federal minimum for tipped workers, with Virginia’s own tipped minimum wage following the state’s phased schedule at roughly half the regular minimum wage.

The key rule: the cash wage plus tips received must equal or exceed the full $12.00/hr minimum. If a server’s tips on a given shift are low, the employer must make up the shortfall. This requirement applies to each individual workweek — an employer cannot average a good week against a bad week to satisfy the minimum wage obligation.

Practically, this means:

A server paid $3.89/hr cash who averages $10/hr in tips earns $13.89/hr combined — above the minimum. No make-up required.
A server paid $3.89/hr cash on a slow Sunday who only averages $6/hr in tips earns $9.89/hr — $2.11/hr below the $12.00 minimum. The employer must make up $2.11 for every hour worked that week.

Common pay mistakes and employee rights in Virginia

Misclassification as exempt: Some Richmond employers incorrectly classify hourly workers as exempt from overtime (for example, as “assistant managers”) without meeting the actual legal tests for exemption. The Virginia Overtime Wage Act allows employees to recover unpaid overtime wages plus liquidated damages.

Rounding practices: Employers may use rounding to the nearest 15 minutes only if the rounding policy does not consistently favor the employer. Random audits of clock-in/clock-out records are advisable.

Deductions from minimum wage: Certain deductions (like for uniforms or tools that bring pay below the minimum wage) are not permitted under Virginia law. Cash register shortages generally cannot be deducted in ways that reduce pay below the minimum wage.

If you believe you are owed wages or overtime, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and the federal Department of Labor both handle wage claims.