State labor lawRead at source, 24 September 2026

West Virginia Labor Laws for Employers (2026): Breaks, Overtime, Final Pay and Hiring

West Virginia sets several rules of its own. Employers with six or more employees at a location pay at least $8.75 an hour, and overtime is owed after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily rule. A workday of six hours or more needs a 20-minute meal break when employees are not otherwise given breaks or allowed to eat while working. Employees must be paid at least twice a month, no more than 19 days apart, and final pay is due by the next regular payday whether the employee quits or is fired. There is no state paid sick leave or pay transparency law.

West Virginia employment law at a glance

West Virginia sets several rules of its own: a state minimum wage above the federal rate, a meal break, twice-monthly paydays and a final-pay deadline. Every row below was read in the West Virginia Code or at the West Virginia Division of Labor on 24 September 2026.

West Virginia break laws

West Virginia is one of the few states in the region with an adult meal break. W. Va. Code § 21-3-10a says that during a workday of six or more hours, "all employers shall make available for each of their employees, at least twenty minutes for meal breaks, at times reasonably designated by the employer." The statute adds that the rule applies "in all situations where employees are not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working." So if your staff already get breaks or can eat on the job, the separate 20-minute meal break is not triggered. If they cannot, schedule it.

Rest breaks

The Code does not require separate rest breaks for adults. If you give short breaks, federal law applies: under 29 CFR 785.18, rest periods of about 5 to 20 minutes "must be counted as hours worked." Federal rules treat a meal period as unpaid only if it is a bona fide meal period, which is ordinarily 30 minutes or more with the employee fully relieved of duty (29 CFR 785.19), so a 20-minute meal break is normally paid time.

Breaks for minors

A worker under 16 may not work "more than five hours continuously without an interval of at least thirty minutes for a lunch period" (§ 21-6-7(a)(7)). Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds follow the adult rule. Compare other states on our meal break laws by state page.

Lactation

West Virginia has no general lactation rule for private employers that we found in the Code. The federal PUMP Act applies: most nursing employees are entitled to reasonable break time and a private space that is not a bathroom for up to one year after the child's birth (U.S. DOL).

West Virginia overtime laws

West Virginia's overtime statute, § 21-5C-3, requires one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. It has no daily overtime and no seventh-day rule. The state rule is narrower than it looks: for overtime, the definition of employer in § 21-5C-1(e) excludes any employer where 80 percent of the workforce is subject to a federal overtime law. The Division of Labor says the practical result is that "most employers (and employees) will find themselves covered under state law for minimum wage, and federal law for overtime wages" (Division of Labor).

Either way the arithmetic is the same: time and one-half after 40 hours. West Virginia sets no state salary threshold for exempt employees; its Code excludes bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees, and the federal FLSA tests decide who is exempt from federal overtime. Private employers cannot give comp time in place of overtime pay under the FLSA. Our overtime laws by state page shows the states with daily rules.

Paying employees in West Virginia

Minimum wage

The West Virginia minimum wage is $8.75 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2016 under § 21-5C-2. It applies where an employer has six or more non-exempt employees at one separate, distinct and permanent location. Tipped employees can be paid $2.62 an hour in cash. No increase is scheduled. Details, including the training wage, are on our West Virginia minimum wage page.

Pay frequency

Under § 21-5-3(a), employers must "settle with its employees at least twice every month," with "no more than 19 days between settlements," unless a special agreement provides otherwise. You may pay in cash, by check, by direct deposit to the employee's account, or by payroll card if the employee can make at least one free withdrawal per pay period and the fees are disclosed in writing. An employer using payroll cards must also offer direct deposit. See pay frequency laws by state.

Final paychecks

Section 21-5-4(b) requires that when an employer discharges an employee, or an employee quits or resigns, wages for work already performed be paid "on or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due and payable." Laid-off workers are paid by the next regular payday as well. Missing the deadline makes the employer liable for the unpaid amount plus "two times that unpaid amount as liquidated damages." Our final paycheck laws by state page compares the rest of the country.

Accrued vacation matters here. Section 21-5-1 counts "then accrued fringe benefits capable of calculation and payable directly to an employee" as wages for the final-pay rules, and defines fringe benefits to include vacation, holidays and sick leave. The statute also says nothing in it requires fringe benefits to be calculated contrary to an agreement between employer and employees, so your written PTO policy decides how accrued time is calculated. See PTO payout laws by state.

Deductions for unreturned property

Section 21-5-4(f) lets an employer recover the replacement cost of unreturned employer property worth more than $100 from final wages, but only with a signed written agreement that itemizes the property and its replacement cost and says the cost can be deducted, plus written notice at separation. Without that paperwork, the deduction is not allowed.

West Virginia hiring laws

Before a new hire's first shift in West Virginia:

• Pay in the job posting: Not required by West Virginia law, and there is no state salary history ban for private employers. See pay transparency laws by state.
• Criminal history: No state ban-the-box law for private employers. See ban the box laws by state.
• E-Verify: Not required of private employers generally; see E-Verify requirements by state. Every hire still needs a federal Form I-9.
• New-hire reporting: Report each new hire, rehire or return to work within 14 days, through the West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center. Section 48-18-125 also requires reporting independent contractors paid $2,500 or more in a year. Electronic filers may instead send two reports a month, 12 to 16 days apart.
• Minors: Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds must have an age certificate before starting any job. Since July 11, 2025, every age certificate is processed and issued by the Division of Labor, and the form includes a promise of a job, parental consent, school attendance and proof of age (Division of Labor child labor FAQ). Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds need no certificate except for junior volunteer firefighting, though an employer may ask for one as proof of age. Under-16s may not work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day), or more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. See child labor laws by state.
• Drug testing: Rules for medical cannabis patients and testing programs are summarized on our drug testing laws by state page.

Paid leave in West Virginia

West Virginia has no paid sick leave law for private employers and no state paid family leave program. Employers with 50 or more employees owe unpaid FMLA leave to eligible employees under federal law. The leave you do offer creates obligations, though: because West Virginia counts accrued, calculable vacation and other fringe benefits as wages at separation, a vague PTO policy can turn into a final-pay claim. Write down how time accrues, how it is valued and what happens to it at separation.

Posters and records

The Division of Labor lists the state posters on its required posters page, including the minimum wage and maximum hours poster. Add the federal posters, and see our labor law posters by state page for every state you hire in. West Virginia requires tip records completed by the employee before you can take the tip credit; without them, the Division says, you owe the full $8.75. For handbook policies, see employee handbook requirements by state.

Local ordinances in West Virginia

We found no West Virginia city minimum wage, paid sick leave or predictive scheduling ordinance that changes the answers on this page, so the state rules above apply statewide. If you also hire in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia or Kentucky, the rules change at the state line; our predictive scheduling laws by state page lists the cities that regulate schedules.

What this means when you're hiring hourly workers in West Virginia

Price the job off $8.75, not $7.25, at any site with six or more employees, and schedule the 20-minute meal break into any shift of six hours or more where people cannot eat on the job. Paydays at least twice a month are a legal requirement here, so say how often you pay (for example, "paid every two weeks") in the ad; hourly candidates look for it. Put the starting rate, shift and town in the first line of the ad. Our job ad copywriting guide shows how, the employee cost calculator shows what the hire costs, and Boostpoint runs Facebook and Instagram job ads for frontline employers with a short in-app application so applicants reach you while they are still looking.

Frequently asked questions

West Virginia Code read on code.wvlegislature.gov; guidance read at the West Virginia Division of Labor, the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Labor on 24 September 2026.