Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Preemption ($7.25 Floor)

The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (43 P.S. §333.101 et seq.), enacted in 1968, sets the state minimum wage at $7.25 per hour — the same as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act floor since the last increase in 2009. The tipped minimum is $2.83 per hour, with employers required to make up the difference if tips don't bring the worker to $7.25. The Act has been interpreted by the Commonwealth Court to preempt municipal minimum wage ordinances, most notably in Building Owners and Managers Ass'n of Pittsburgh v. City of Pittsburgh (2018), which struck down a paid sick leave ordinance, and in earlier rulings on Philadelphia's 2014 attempt to set a $10.88 city minimum for workers at companies receiving city contracts (the contracting provision survived but a general minimum wage hike was not adopted citywide). The PA Department of Labor & Industry enforces wage and hour law under 43 P.S. §333.108. Multiple legislative proposals to raise the state minimum to $15/hr have stalled in the General Assembly since 2019. Cities cannot adopt local minimum wages applicable to private employers; they can only set wage floors for their own employees and direct contractors.

Failure to pay the state minimum wage is recoverable under 43 P.S. §333.113 — employees may recover unpaid wages plus liquidated damages and attorney's fees. The PA Department of Labor & Industry may issue civil penalties up to $300 per violation and refer willful violations for criminal prosecution. Cities passing preempted minimum wage ordinances face declaratory judgment actions in Commonwealth Court.