Nevada Labor Laws Guide

Nevada Labor Laws FAQ
Nevada minimum wage $12
Nevada overtime laws 1.5 times the minimum wage for any time worked over 40 hours/week
($18 for minimum wage workers)
Nevada break laws Meal break — 30 min per 8 hours
Rest break — 10 min per 4 hours
Nevada Labor Laws Guide

The state of Nevada generally has its own laws concerning labor, but in some instances, it follows federal regulations instead. The rule of law is administered and regulated by the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner.

In this Nevada labor laws guide, we’ll be looking at the following areas:

Nevada wage laws

We’ll first deal with the most important laws and regulations regarding:

NEVADA MINIMUM WAGE
Regular minimum wage Tipped minimum wage Subminimum wage
$12 $12 $12

Nevada minimum wage

As of July 1, 2024, the minimum wage in the state of Nevada is $12per hour — no matter whether the employer provides their employees with health benefits or not. 

Tipped minimum wage in Nevada

According to federal law and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), tips are a certainamount of money that customers freely provide to employees. 

Under Nevada regulations, employers aren’t allowed to offer lower than standard minimum hourly rates to tipped employees. So the minimum wage for tipped employees must be $12 per hour.

There’s a common practice related to tips — tip pooling (or tip sharing), and Nevada employers can require employees to participate in tip pools. 

Tip pooling refers to the practice of obligating all employees to share a part of their tips, allowing a portion to be distributed to employees who typically don’t receive tips, such as:

Even if an employer doesn’t require tip pooling, employees can enter into agreements about this among themselves.

Subminimum wage in Nevada

As of 1 July 2024, all employees — including minors, students, and those with disabilities — are entitled to the full minimum wage of $12 per hour.

That means that, unlike in many other states, employees who are trainees, learners, apprentices, and student learners are also entitled to the standard hourly rate.

Nevada payment laws

When it comes to pay frequency for Nevada, employers are required by law to provide regular compensation for their employees on a semi-monthly basis or twice a month. 

This means that every 2 weeks is considered a payroll period. 

It’s also legal for an employee to have a different payroll period, provided that both the employer and the employee agree to different terms in writing.

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Nevada overtime laws

Regulations established by the Fair Labor Standards Act define a workweek as any 7 consecutive working days. 

Any number of hours exceeding 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day counts as overtime — and must be compensated at a higher hourly rate. 

Non-exempt employees who do exceed those numbers are entitled to 1.5 times their regular rate.

In the state of Nevada, this translates to the following: The overtime rate currently equals $18 per hour for non-exempt employees.

Some occupations and conditions can overrule this 1.5 rate requirement, so that’s why we said “non-exempt employees” earlier. 

We’ll explain everything in the following sections, so read on and check out who is eligible for overtime compensation in Nevada, and who isn’t.

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Overtime exceptions and exemptions for white-collar employees in Nevada

Regarding overtime exceptions and exemptions, Nevada adheres to both federal and state laws.

According to federal law, provided they earn at least $1,128 per week, white-collar employees don’t have to be paid at a 1.5 rate for working over 40 hours.

There are 4 main categories of white-collar occupations, and those are:

  1. Administration — people who perform non-manual work related to business operations, management policies, or administrative training (provided that no more than 20% of the time is spent on activities unrelated to the position). This category includes accountants, HR team members, market research analysts, etc.
  2. Executives — business, general, and executive managers who directly manage at least 2 employees.
  3. Professionals — people whose position calls for advanced knowledge and extensive education, such as software analysts or software engineers. This category also includes artists, certified teachers, and other creative work requiring talent, invention, or imagination.
  4. Outside sales — outside sales representatives who visit potential and existing customers at their premises.

However, Nevada law exempts only the first 3 categories, so outside salespeople are NOT exempt from their overtime requirements in the state of Nevada.

Nevada overtime restrictions for specific occupations

Besides the federal government exemptions, the state enforces overtime restrictions onsome other, more specific occupations — including the following:

Nevada break laws

Employers in Nevada are legally required to provide 2 types of breaks to all their employees — meal and rest breaks. 

When it comes to the duration of meal breaks, employees are entitled to 30 minutes, provided their shift lasts 8 hours. It’s up to employers to decide if meal breaks are paid or unpaid.

Rest breaksare shorter, lasting 10 minutes.Employees can take this type of break after every 4 hours. Rest breaks must be paid, and their main purpose is to maintain employees’ productivity levels.

There’s another type of break, but it applies only to still breastfeeding mothers — a lactating break, which we’ll elaborate on in the following section.

Breastfeeding laws in Nevada

All working mothers who gave birth recently and are still lactating and breastfeeding are entitled to take a break for this purpose. 

In Nevada, as on the federal level, employers are obligated to provide adequate conditions for female employees.

This type of break can be either paid or unpaid, as predetermined by the company’s regulations and policy. 

By “adequate conditions,” the law refers to employers providing a room or location with a door thatisn’t a bathroom stall.

Employers must provide such a location in the nearest possible proximity to the working environment. 

Nevada leave requirements

Now, let’s take a look at what employers in Nevada are entitled to do if an employee asks for a leave of absence from work. Also, if they provide leave time, will an employee be compensated for it?

The law clearly regulates which types of leave employers are required to provide, without any negative consequences for an employee upon their return to work. 

There are 2 broad categories of leave of absence — required and non-required, according to the US Department of Labor. 

Here’s how the state of Nevada regulates required and non-required leave.

Nevada required leave 

Here’s the list of types of leave that employers in Nevada are required to offer by law:

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Sick leave

According to Nevada law, private employers with 50 or more employees must offer 40 hours of paid sick leave, at least when it comes to their full-time employees.

For part-time employees, the ratio is the same, but the number translates to 0.01923 hours of paid sick leave per 1 hour worked. So, part-time employees are entitled to 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 52 hours worked.

Family and medical leave

This is a type of required leave that all employers in the state of Nevada must provide to their employees. 

Eligibility for this type of leave is regulated by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which states that all employees are eligible to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 1-year period for various household and medical-related reasons, including:

To be eligible, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least a year and at least 1,250 work hours. Note that this is only applicable for employers with over 50 employees.

Additionally, in an effort to protect the families of the Armed Services, Congress amended the FMLA in 2008. 

Since then, employers have also been required to provide up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave if an employee needs to take care of a member of the Armed Forces with a serious health condition, injury, or undergoing medical treatment or therapy. This is applicable only if said member is an employee’s spouse, parent, child, or next of kin.

Vacation leave

Employers with at least 50 employees are required to provide paid leave of at least 0.01923 hours per hour of work for their employees, which translates into at least 1 hour of paid vacation leave per 52 hours worked.

Employees can start using their vacation time after 90 days of employment have passed.

Employees are required to provide notice in a reasonably timely manner. 

Employers are allowed to cap the number of hours worked per year at 40 and aren’t required to compensate employees for unused leave upon separation.

There are several exceptions to vacation leave in Nevada. The following are exemptions from the requirement — and mean the employers don’t have to offer vacation leave for employees:

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Jury duty leave

According to state law, if an employee in Nevada is summoned to perform jury duty, employers must allow them to be absent from work during that time. Employers mustn’t require employees to use their sick, vacation, or any other type of leave for this reason.

The law also states that employers can’t penalize or discipline their employees in any way for accepting jury duty. Additionally, if an employee spends at least 4 hours on jury duty, their shift on the following day can’t be scheduled during the period between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Voting time leave

Nevada employers must offer paid voting time leave to all their employees — if it’s impractical for them to vote before or after their shift. 

Employees who take a leave of absence to vote mustn’t be penalized in any way upon their return to work. 

The duration of this type of leave depends on the distance between the workplace and the voting place. It is set to:

Parental leave 

When it comes to employees who are parents or guardians, there’s another type of required leave in Nevada. 

It concerns the attendance of any school-related activities, for which employers with over 50 employees must provide up to 4 hours of leave. 

The employer can choose whether school leave time will be paid or unpaid.

Military leave 

This type of leave is regulated on a federal level by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act. 

The act states that all employees in the US must be granted a leave of absence to serve in one of the following:

Upon the employee’s return to work, they must be entitled to the same pay increases and other benefits as if they were present at work the whole time. 

Witness leave 

The law requires employers to provide either paid or unpaid leave for all their employees who are summoned to be a witness in any court. 

Domestic violence or sexual assault leave

Employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violence, or have a family member who is, must be offered this type of leave, provided they have worked at least 90 days for the employer.

Employees are allowed to take up to 160 hours per year of protected leave in order to address various issues related to domestic violence or sexual assault, such as:

Nevada non-required leave

There are only a couple of categories of leave that, by Nevada state laws, employers aren’t required to offer to their employees, including:

It’s important to mention that the law also doesn’t prohibit or restrict these types of leave. 

If an employer chooses to offer any or all, the exact terms need to be stated in the signed contract of employment.

Holiday leave 

The first type of leave that employers in Nevada aren’t required to offer is for the purpose of holidays.

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Bereavement leave

The same is applicable to bereavement leave — Nevada employers aren’t required to offer this type of leave to any of their employees.

Child labor laws in Nevada

The term minors refers to young people, aged under 18.

The main purpose of both federal and Nevada child labor laws is to prevent the exploitation of minors. 

Additionally, it’s to help minors prioritize education; their employment is meant to enhance their academic and life experiences.

Some of the most relevant limitations regarding the employment of minors can be seen in the following categories:

While different rules and regulations are applicable to different age groups, there’s still one thing applicable to all age groups — minors are forbidden to work in any hazardous positions, according to federal law.

Next, let’s take a look at some rules and regulations stated in the Nevada Child Labor Laws.

Specific labor laws for minors

In Nevada, child labor laws enforce specific rules for different age groups. The 2 categories impose restrictions on the maximum hours of work and night work for minors. 

There’s another relevant thing to mention — in order to be employed, minors who are under 16 years of age must have written permission from a district court judge. 

For the employment of minors, the following rules apply:

Prohibited occupations for minors in Nevada

There are also some restrictions on child labor in specific industries. 

Here’s the list of other examples that are prohibited for minors under 16 years of age in Nevada:

Termination laws in Nevada

Like the majority of other states in the US, Nevada also implements the employment-at-will doctrine and policy. 

Here’s what that means for both employers and employees:

Nevada also has a unique statute that prohibits employers from terminating employees based on reports made by a hired detective or special agent, without providing the employee with an adequate opportunity for a hearing. 

The accused employees must be given notice of the report. Moreover, they have the right to confront the person who made the report and present their own defense at the hearing.

Final paycheck in Nevada

Employers in Nevada are legally required to provide a final paycheck, including all wages and benefits, to everyone whose employment was terminated.

According to the Nevada law, final paychecks for employees who are laid off or fired are due immediately. 

For employees who quit their positions, the due date is either by the next scheduled payday or within 7 days, whichever comes first.

Discrimination laws in Nevada

There are many bases of discrimination in the workplace that operate on a federal scale, but the state of Nevada has added 5 additional ones.

So, here’s the full list of reasons, including both federal and Nevada-specific ones:

Employees who suspect they were discriminated against should file a formal complaint within 300 days of the discriminatory act.

Occupational safety in Nevada

All employees must have a safe and healthy working environment — and both the federal and the Nevada state laws require employers to provide optimal conditions.

The first thing to mention is the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), passed by Congress in 1970. However, there are additional requirements for employers in Nevada.

OSHA states that employers are required to:

Employers are required to provide several things to ensure workplace safety: 

The primary goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate the risk of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. 

Besides providing necessary training and education for employees, employers must create optimal working conditions, free from any recognized hazards that may cause harm.

Moreover, it’s obligatory to conduct research regularly and undertake safety demonstrations concerning health matters.

Nevada OSHA is under the jurisdiction of the Division of Industrial Relations — specifically, the Department of Business and Industry. 

The Nevada State Plan is applicable to state and local government employees and non-exempt private sector workplaces.

Exceptions and additions in Nevada OSHA

Here’s the list of exceptions, which aren’t regulated by the Nevada State Plan:

Nevada OSHA representatives conduct inspections to ensure compliance with standards, and these inspections can occur for various reasons. Additionally, they can be scheduled and unscheduled. 

Unscheduled inspections can result from:

The state of Nevada has implemented numerous unique standards, categorized into General Industry and Construction-related standards. 

The General Industry standards include:

The Construction standard includes:

Miscellaneous Nevada labor laws

Now let’s see what else is enforced and mention several additional laws that may be applicable to your situation.

Here’s what else is regulated by the rule of law in Nevada:

Whistleblower protection laws

The main purpose of this set of laws is to ensure that employees can exercise all of their legal rights without negative repercussions as a result. 

The term “whistleblower” refers to employees who have inside knowledge of illegal practices or a safety hazard in the workplace. They must be able to report it and continue being employed.

According to the Nevada Whistleblower Act, here’s the list of reasons why employees can’t be discriminated against or treated differently in any way:

The set of regulations is applicable only to employers with 15 or more employees.

COBRA laws

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows employees to retain health care insurance and benefits after the termination of employment.

COBRA, which is a federal law, can be applied to employers with over 20 employees, so many states have implemented their own regulations, also known as “mini-COBRAs”, to cover businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

The state of Nevada has a Mini-COBRA law which requires employers with fewer than 20 employees to offer continuation of health insurance to eligible employees in case of:

Mandatory safety training laws

In Nevada, since January 2021, employees in certain occupations have been required to complete specific OSHA courses within 15 days of their hire date.

For all supervisors, completion of an OSHA-30 course is required. 

For employees in entertainment, the requirement is an OSHA-10 course completion — it’s applicable to the following areas:

Uniform laws

When it comes to Nevada employees who are required to wear a uniform or any other accessories with a distinctive style, color, or material — according to the state law, it’s their employer’s responsibility to provide these uniforms.

The same applies to cleaning costs, provided a uniform or other accessory can’t be easily laundered, but rather requires a special cleaning process.

Background check laws

Background checks are allowed by all employers (but not required) and are subject to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This act regulates the collection, accuracy, and distribution of information by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — all employers must ensure they are following these requirements.

Only certain positions require background checks in Nevada, including:

Credit and investigative check laws

The state of Nevada has its own laws regarding credit and investigative checks, and in most instances, these checks are prohibited. In other words, employers aren’t allowed to obtain credit reports on their employees and applicants.

There are certain exceptions to the rule — so let’s see under which circumstances employers are allowed to do so, or even required to do so by the law.

Here’s the full list of such exceptions:

It’s also important to mention the following: If employers conduct credit and investigative checks, they must carefully follow the procedures stated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

Arrest and conviction check laws

When it comes to arrest and conviction checks, Nevada employers are forbidden to ask about the arrest records that didn’t result in a conviction.

Moreover, the initial application mustn’t include any questions about the criminal history of a potential employee.

Later in the process, Nevada employers are allowed to make an inquiry about incidents currently within the criminal justice system, such as:

Drug and alcohol testing laws

Nevada employers are allowed to conduct drug and alcohol tests on their employees and applicants, if they want. 

However, according to state law, employers are forbidden to reject a prospective employee due to their screening test indicating the presence of marijuana.

There are several exceptions to the rule — the law doesn’t apply to the following occupations:

Employer social media regulations

State law protects employees based in Nevada regarding their social media accounts. 

Here’s what is considered an illegal practice for employers in this state:

Employee monitoring laws

Nevada is among the states that require the consent of “all parties” when it comes to employee monitoring. So, it’s illegal to secretly record a spoken conversation without the consent of at least one party. 

When it comes to telephone conversations, the Nevada Supreme Court makes it illegal to record those without the consent of all parties. Without the “all parties” consent, such recording is a felony with the potential of civil damages.

Record-keeping laws

Keeping records of all their employees is an obligation for all Nevada employers — they must do so for 3 years. 

So, what types and categories of information should such records consist of? Here’s the full list:

There are some other record-keeping laws that apply to specific situations. So, here’s what else employers ought to keep on record, and for how long:

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Frequently asked questions about Nevada labor laws

If we haven’t answered some of your questions about living and working in Nevada, here’s an additional section with extra information.

What are labor laws in Nevada?

Labor laws in Nevada (and any other state) are laws concerning the rights and responsibilities of either employers or employees in the workplace. 

Such laws may entail:

What is the 4/10 rule in Nevada?

The 4/10 rule refers to an employee working four 10-hour shifts in a workweek. Now, since working more than 40 hours a week is considered overtime and eligible employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay — this is not the case for 4/10 work arrangements. In other words, such employees aren’t entitled to overtime pay.

Does Nevada pay overtime after 8 hours?

Yes, eligible employees are entitled to overtime pay for working more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week. 

Is 32 hours considered full-time in Nevada?

The state of Nevada doesn’t define full-time employment, i.e., the minimum number of hours that constitute full-time work. 

Do you legally have to give 2 weeks’ notice in Nevada?

There’s no state law requiring employees to provide a 2-week notice before quitting their job. As a matter of fact, Nevada follows the at-will employment doctrine, which allows both employers and employees to terminate the employment relationship at any time.

Is Nevada a zero-tolerance state?

Yes, the state of Nevada has a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. This means that it’s unlawful for persons under the age of 21 to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02% or higher. 

What is the minimum wage in Nevada?

The current minimum wage in Nevada is $12per hour for non-exempt employees.

Use Clockify to stay compliant with Nevada labor laws

To stay compliant with all the above-mentioned laws and regulations, consider using a reliable tool like Clockify.

Clockify is a time tracking tool at its core, but it can also help you ensure compliance thanks to its powerful features:

Speaking of time off, Clockify keeps track of your employees’ earned paid leave. Each employee can see their time off balance, thanks to Clockify’s easy-to-use interface. 

time off in Clockify
Time off in Clockify

Employees have a clear view of their available days off, along with the days they have accrued and used, depending on the type of leave they’re eligible for.

By leveraging Clockify’s powerful features, Nevada employers will always stay compliant with state labor laws, promoting transparency in the workplace at the same time.

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Conclusion/Disclaimer

We hope this Nevada labor law guide has been helpful. We advise you to make sure you’ve paid attention to the links we’ve provided, as most of them will lead you to the official government websites and other relevant information.

Please note that this guide was written in Q2 2025, so any changes in the labor laws that were included later than that may not be included in this Nevada labor laws guide. 

We strongly advise you to consult with the appropriate institutions and/or certified representatives before acting on any legal matters. 

Clockify isn’t responsible for any losses or risks incurred should this guide be used without further guidance from legal or tax advisors.

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