What's minimum wage?
Employers should be very careful in determining minimum wage, since federal and state laws often overlap, resulting in confusion for business owners. The most important point to remember when comparing state and federal regulations is that whichever set of rules is more favorable to the employee is what should be used.

If the employer is subject to federal minimum wage, he or she should check with the federal wage and hour division for the correct wage for both regular and tipped employees. If the state has a minimum wage that is higher than the federal, it must be used, since this is more favorable to the employee.