Louisiana Labor Laws

In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  sets hourly wage rates and overtime pay, and requires employers to keep an accurate record of their employees’ working hours. 

Since state-specific policies are absent, Louisiana’s time management laws adhere to the regulations of the FLSA. Overtime is pegged at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for workers who exceed 40 hours a week. 

Additionally, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) governs leave time management, entitling eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specific family and medical reasons.

Employers who contravene federal time management laws face severe legal ramifications, including fines, back pay, and damages. If workers feel that their employer has violated federal time management laws, they can file complaints with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for investigation and legal action.

In Louisiana, employers are prohibited from engaging in discrimination against protected characteristics during any aspect of the employment process, including hiring new employees. Protected characteristics as per state law include:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• National origin
• Natural, cultural or protective hairstyle

Similarly, employers are prohibited from paying employees different wages to employees for work that requires the same amount effort and skill solely due to their gender.

Louisiana practices employment at-will, meaning an employer or employee can terminate an employment contract at any time, as long as there are no specific contractual obligations governing the relationship.

Louisiana labor law also states that an employee must be paid final wages by their next scheduled payday or within 15 days after the day of termination or resignation — whichever comes first. Collective bargaining agreements may provide different rules for final wage payment. 

For rail carrier employees, official holidays do not count towards the 15-day deadline to pay final wages.

Some additional labor laws that are significant in Louisiana include: 

• Workplace Safety Laws: In Louisiana, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires private employers to ensure all workers operate and work in a safe environment free from hazards. Additionally, OSHA aims to prevent any work-related injuries that may arise from poor health standards. 
• Health Insurance Continuation Laws: Under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employees and their dependents can continue to receive group health insurance benefits after losing employment due to a qualifying reason. However, this law only applies to businesses with at least 20 employees. Employees working for employers with fewer than 20 workers can avail the same benefit under the Louisiana mini-COBRA. 
• Whistleblower Protection Laws: Louisiana’s whistleblower law safeguards public and private sector employees from employer retaliation for reporting their employer’s illegal activities, testifying in court against them, or refusing to participate in illegal activity at the direction of an employer. If an employee is wrongly fired or suspended, they are entitled to be reinstated and to receive back pay. 
• Social Media Laws: Employers are prohibited from asking employees for personal information related to their social media accounts, including usernames, passwords, and authentication details. It is also against the law for employers to punish employees who decline to provide this information.
• Recordkeeping Laws: Employers in Louisiana are required to keep to maintain an employee’s information, including their name, address, wages paid in each pay period, the employee’s occupation, and their daily/weekly work hours. These records must be maintained for at least one year.

The minimum wage in Louisiana is $7.25 per hour. The state follows the federal minimum wage as it does not have its own minimum wage law.

Only employers covered by the FLSA are required to pay their employees at least $7.25 per hour.  

Tipped employees in Louisiana earning more than $30 in tips per month are entitled to the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. Employers are allowed to retain a tip credit of $5.12.

However, if a tipped employee’s total hourly wage, including tips, does not reach $7.25, the employer is required to pay the difference. 

Certain employees are exempt from receiving minimum wage in Louisiana, as per federal law. This includes: 

• Executive, professional and administrative workers earning at least $684 per week
• Full-time students
• Student learners
• Tipped employees
• Apprentices
• Employees with disabilities

In Louisiana, employers with more than ten employees working in manufacturing, oil drilling, minimum and public service corporations are required to pay workers at least twice a month. Only clerical workers and salespeople who are not employed in public service corporations are exempt from this rule.

Apart from this law, there is no state-level law that enforces the frequency of wage payments in Louisiana; it is up to the employer to set regularly occurring pay days. Employers must inform employees of their wage payment schedule at the time of hiring. 

If the employer fails to set a regularly occurring pay day, then wages must be paid on the 1st and 16th of each month.

Employees in Louisiana are entitled to additional wages if they work more than 40 hours in a week, as per Louisiana overtime laws. These additional wages are calculated at 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly rate. 

Workers earning minimum wage in Louisiana can earn $10.88 per hour worked overtime. 

Certain groups and professions do not receive overtime pay in Louisiana even if they work more than 40 hours in a week as they are exempt according to federal law. These include:

• Executive, professional and administrative employees earning a minimum of $684 per week
• Outside sales employees
• Professional employees such as artists, teachers, skilled computer professionals, etc.
• Highly compensated employees earning more than $107,432 per year
• Computer employees earning at least $27.63 per hour
• Aircraft salespeople
• Drivers, their helpers, loaders, and mechanics under certain conditions
• Commissioned salespersons under certain conditions
• Seasonal and recreational workers
• Airline employees
• Amusement/recreational employees in national parks/forests/Wildlife Refuge System
• Casual babysitters
• Buyers of agricultural products
• Caretakers of the elderly
• Domestic employees who live with their employers
• Federal criminal investigators
• Livestock auction workers
• Motion picture theatre employees
• Newspaper deliverers
• Railroad employees

In Louisiana, there are no state-specific laws mandating meal or rest breaks for employees. Moreover, federal law does not obligate employers to provide workers with such breaks.

However, if an employer provides a meal or rest break at their own discretion, there are certain guidelines as per federal law that must be followed. 

Short breaks lasting less than 20 minutes must be paid. In contrast, breaks lasting for more than 30 minutes are unpaid, only if the employee is completely relieved of their job duties. 

If an employee has to work during any portion of their break, they must be fairly compensated for the break.

In Louisiana, mothers are allowed to breastfeed in any workplace without it being considered a violation. Employers are required to provide a safe and private space for mothers to express milk, which should not be a bathroom. Additionally, breastfeeding mothers are guaranteed a reasonable amount of time to lactate, which can be taken during designated break times for up to one year after giving birth.

Employees in Louisiana are entitled to the following types of leaves:

• Family and Medical Leave: As per the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Louisiana employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a year for various reasons, such as caring for a sick family member, after the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, due to serious illness, or while a family member is on military duty. To be eligible for FMLA, employees must have worked for their employer for at least a year, logged at least 1,250 work hours, and worked at a location with a minimum of 50 employees within 75 miles.
• Jury Duty Leave: State employees in Louisiana are entitled to one day of jury leave for attending jury service. This leave must be provided without any deduction in wages or other leave benefits. State laws do not outline any leave requirements for private employees. However, all employees in Louisiana are entitled to attend jury service without any fear of retaliation from their employer.
• Parental Leave: As per Louisiana law, state employees are entitled to 240 hours of paid parental leave for qualifying reasons, including the birth of a newborn or the adoption or foster placement of a child under 18 years of age. To be eligible for parental leave, a state employee must’ve worked for their employer for at least 1250 hours in a 12-month period preceding the request for leave. Additionally, employers cannot require an employee to use their annual, sick or any other accrued leave balance instead of paid parental leave

The following is a list of public holidays observed in Louisiana as of 2025:

Louisiana law considers any individual under the age of 18 to be a minor. 

Work Permits for Minors in Louisiana

To employ a minor in Louisiana, employers are required to obtain an employment certificate that is issued by a city authority or school superintendent. 

Work hours for minors in Louisiana are determined as per their age. Minors aged 14 and 15 cannot work more than:

• Three hours daily and 18 hours weekly when school is in session
• Eight hours daily and 40 hours weekly when school is not in session

Work hours for minors aged under 15 may only be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. These hours may be extended until 9 p.m. between June 1st and Labor Day.

There are no work hour regulations for minors aged 16 and 17. However, state law requires employers to provide these minors a break lasting at least eight hours before the beginning of their next work day or shift. 

As per Louisiana labor laws, minors are prohibited from working in:

• Machinery maintenance work, including the oiling, cleaning and wiping of machinery
• Mines and quarries
• Stone polishing and cutting
• Plants manufacturing explosives
• Steel manufacturing plants
• Logging operations
• Sawmills or cooperage stock mills
• Locations selling alcoholic beverages
• Passenger or freight elevator operations
• Jobs with exposure to lead and its compounds

Further details regarding prohibited jobs for minors can be found in Louisiana’s minor labor law placard.