The Indiana 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.

$7.25 for most employees (as of 2024)

Indiana does not have a state-set minimum wage so Indiana employers should use federal minimum wage. Local cities tend to follow this wage amount and do not set their own higher rates.

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.

$2.13 per hour for most tipped employees (as of 2024)

Employers must make up the difference if the employee’s tips and hourly wage do not equate to $7.25 per hour.

Indiana overtime laws are based on the federal 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.

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Indiana has no laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to nonexempt adult employees eighteen years of age or older, so the federal rule applies in their case. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal period or breaks.

However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks lasting less than twenty minutes must be paid. Meal or lunch periods (usually thirty minutes or more) do not need to be paid so long as the employee is relieved of all duties and free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period.

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Vacation leave
Indiana does not require employers to provide paid time off to their employees. Private employers can choose to offer vacation leave at their discretion. 

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

Holidays
Indiana law doesn’t require employers to offer their employees paid or unpaid holiday leave.

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Different child labor laws in Indiana depend on the minor’s age. 

Laws for minors 14-15:

• Restricted to working 3 hours per school day, 18 hours per school week 

• Restricted to working 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session 

• Cannot work before 7 AM or after 7 PM. Between June 1st through Labor Day, minors can work until 9 PM 

Laws for minors 16:

• Restricted to working 8 hours per school day, and 30 hours per school week, this can be extended to 40 hours per week with written parent consent. 

• Restricted to working 9 hours per day, and 48 hours when school is not in session or the next day is not followed by a school day (written parent consent needed)

• Cannot work more than 6 days a work 

• Cannot work before 6 AM and after 10 PM on nights followed by a school day. Able to work until 12 AM when school is not in session the following day with written parent consent

Laws for minors 17:

• Restricted to working 8 hours per school day, and 40 hours per school week (with written parent consent)

• Restricted to working 9 hours per day, and 48 hours when school is not in session or the next day is not followed by a school day with written parent consent

• Cannot work more than 6 days a work 

• Cannot work before 6 AM and after 11:30 PM on nights followed by a school day with written parent consent.

• Able to work until 1 AM when school is not in session the following day. However, these cannot be on consecutive nights and not more than two school nights per week with written parent consent.  

When they are scheduled to work 6 or more consecutive hours, minors under 18 must receive one or two 30-minute breaks.

Hiring
The Indiana Civil Rights Law prohibits discrimination during the hiring process based on:

• Race

• Color

• Religion

• National origin

• Sex

• Disability 

• Age (40 and older)

• Sexual orientation 

• Gender identity

Employers must obtain written consent from candidates before performing background checks. If one is conducted, employers must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulations, including notifying candidates when the background check is being conducted and providing a copy of the report. 

Some local jurisdictions in Indiana prohibit asking about criminal history and salary history.

They also must verify that employees can work in the U.S. using Form I-9 and keep records for at least three years after the employee has been hired or at least one year after an employee’s employment has ended, depending on which occurs later.

Indiana also complies with federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). 

Firing
Indiana supports “at-will” employment laws. All Indiana employers have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason and no reason at all, as long as they’re not violating the law.