Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 preempts city minimum-wage ordinances. Dallas has never enacted a hotel-specific living wage, and HB 4 (2023) closes the door on industry wage floors, leaving the federal $7.25 floor in place.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 ties the state minimum wage to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rate of $7.25 per hour and Section 62.0515 expressly preempts any municipal wage rule that exceeds the state floor. The 2023 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4) reinforces preemption of employer-employee relations. Dallas has therefore never adopted a hotel-industry living wage like Los Angeles ($25 per hour for large hotels) or Long Beach. The city does pay its own direct employees and certain city contractors above the federal floor under Council policy, but that obligation does not extend to private hotel operators. Hotel housekeepers, valet, and front-desk staff in Dallas earn at least $7.25 plus tips per FLSA.
No Dallas living-wage citation applies because no ordinance exists. FLSA shortfalls expose hotel employers to back-wage liability, equal liquidated damages, and federal civil penalties up to $1,000 per willful repeat. Tipped-wage employers must make up tips to reach $7.25.
Dallas, TX
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 reserves minimum-wage authority to the state and ties Texas to the federal $7.25 floor. Dallas cannot enact a higher city minimum...
Dallas, TX
Texas has no statewide hotel worker-retention law, and Dallas has not enacted a city ordinance requiring new hotel owners to retain incumbent workers after a...
See how Dallas's hotel living wage rules stack up against other locations.
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