The Oklahoma Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates. 

• Current Minimum Wage: The minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25 per hour.

• State Coverage Threshold: Under the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act, state-specific minimum wage laws apply to employers with ten (10) or more full-time employees at any one location or those with a gross annual business volume of $100,000 or more. However, most Oklahoma employers are also subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires the $7.25 rate regardless of these thresholds.

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Tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate employers are legally obligated to pay employees who earn a significant portion of their income through tips.

Tipped employees must receive a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour. The employee's tips plus the $2.13 cash wage must equal at least the $7.25 hourly minimum wage; if they do not, the employer must pay the difference.

Oklahoma doesn’t have its state overtime laws. It follows the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires non-exempt employees to receive paid time and a half for every hour worked over 40 hours within a workweek.

Oklahoma doesn’t have any generally applicable laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to employees who are sixteen years of age or older, so the federal rule applies in this circumstance. 

Federal law does not require employers to provide meal periods or breaks. If they do, they must be paid for 20 minutes.

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Vacation leave
Oklahoma has no state laws requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid vacation leave.

Paid Sick Leave
Oklahoma has no state laws requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave.

Holidays
Oklahoma has no state laws requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid holiday leave.

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Laws for 14-15-year-old minors

• When School is in Session: Limited to a maximum of 3 hours per day and 18 hours per week. "In session" is defined as any week where school is held for any part of the week.

• When School is NOT in Session: Limited to a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

• Permitted Hours: May work between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

• Summer Extension: From June 1st through Labor Day, evening hours are extended to 9:00 PM.

• Mandatory Rest Periods: Oklahoma requires more frequent breaks for this age group than for adults:

  • 30-minute cumulative rest period for every 5 consecutive hours worked.

  • 1-hour cumulative rest period for every 8 consecutive hours worked.

• Occupations: May work only in permitted non-hazardous occupations. There are no exceptions for 14-15-year-olds to work in Hazardous Occupations (HOs).

Minors 16-17 Years Old

• Hours: Once a minor reaches age 16, there are no state or federal restrictions on the number of hours or times of day they can work.

• Occupations: They may work in any non-hazardous occupation.

• Work-Based Learning Exceptions: Minors in this age group who are enrolled in a bona fide work-based learning internship or apprenticeship are permitted to work in certain restricted Hazardous Occupations under strict safety conditions and supervision.

Hazardous Occupations (Prohibited for all Minors under 18): Unless a specific apprenticeship exception applies for 16-17 year olds, all minors are prohibited from:

• Jobs involving explosives, coal mining, or logging.

• Operating power-driven woodworking, hoisting (forklifts), or metal-forming machines.

• Slaughtering, meat-packing, or using power-driven bakery and paper-product machines (balers).

• Roofing, wrecking, demolition, and excavation operations.