Idaho Labor Laws

In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act outlines regulations that compensate an employee’s time spent in the workplace, safeguarding their rights and guaranteeing fair pay for their efforts. These laws act as directives for employers, keeping them in check, and minimizing abuse or exploitation.

Idaho’s time management laws and regulations for minimum wage, overtime, and break laws adhere closely to the federal FLSA and are as follows:  

If an employee believes their rights have been refused or violated by their employer, they can file a wage and hour claim with Idaho’s Department of Labor.

Federal laws as well as the Idaho Human Rights Act prohibit employers with five or more employees from discriminating against job applicants during the hiring process or employees based on the following protected characteristics: 

Idaho is a right-to-work state, meaning that working employees cannot be forced to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment. Employment contracts can, however, have non-compete agreement clauses set to protect the business interests of the employer.

Idaho follows the at-will employment policy, which allows an employer or employee to terminate an employment contract at any time without giving a specific reason. However, contracts with particular employment terms or union regulations may be exempt from the at-will doctrine. Employers can also not discharge an employee by violating public policy, discriminating against protected characteristics, or retaliating in response to whistleblowing. 

After layoff or termination, an employee must be given their final paycheck within 10 days (excluding weekends and holidays). The process can be completed in 48 (excluding weekends and holidays) hours if the employee submits a written request. 

Employees who are not paid on an hourly or salaried basis must be paid their due wages for all hours worked in the pay period immediately before their employment ends unless they are exempt from minimum wage provisions under Idaho labor law. Additional wages, including bonuses and commissions, can be paid by the next scheduled payday.

Some additional labor laws that may affect employment in Idaho include:

• Health Insurance Laws: An employee who loses their job due to certain major life events can continue health insurance coverage for themselves or their dependents for 18 to 36 months under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). Qualifying life events include termination or significant reduction of work hours, death, divorce or legal separation, and loss of dependent child status. Group health insurance plans offered under COBRA can be provided by private-sector employers with 20 or more employees and state or local governments. Employees can be required to pay for COBRA coverage. 
• Workplace Safety Laws:  The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates workplace safety in Idaho. Under OSHA policies, workers have the right to work with safe machinery and proper safety equipment and be protected from exposure to hazardous chemicals. Employees must also receive workplace safety training in a language they comprehend and be protected from retaliation if they request a safety inspection from OSHA authorities. A summary of an employer’s responsibilities for ensuring a safe workplace can be found on OSHA’s official website.
• Whistleblower Protection Laws: Idaho law safeguards public employees who report legal violations related to wastage of government resources, or who refuse to follow their employer’s instructions that would result in an illegal act. The law also prohibits employers from retaliating and restricting employees from reporting such violations. However, such benefits are not extended to private employees in the state.
• Background Check Laws: Idaho state law allows pre-employment background checks for certain occupations related to working with children, the elderly, disabled individuals, banks, alcohol, and truck transportation. Optional background checks before hiring can also be performed to authenticate information given in a job candidate’s application. Current employees in an organization can be subject to background checks in the event of a job promotion. However, any type of background check requires the employee’s written consent beforehand. 
• Drug and Alcohol Testing Laws: Private-sector employers in Idaho can conduct drug and alcohol tests on their employees when hiring, throughout employment, or post-accident. Before testing, employers are required by state law to explain the nature and procedure of the test as well as the consequences of failing the test in writing to all employees. The test must be paid for by the employer and employees must be compensated duly for any time spent on the administration of the test. In instances of positive test results, employees must be allowed to explain themselves and test again.
• Recordkeeping Laws: State law requires employers to maintain accurate employee identification and payroll records for a minimum of three years. These records should include the employee’s personal information, total daily and weekly work hours, workweek schedules, total daily and weekly earnings, hourly wage rate and overtime earned in a week (if any).

A minimum wage is the lowest pay an employer must pay an employee for work done in a certain amount of time. This wage rate can not be lowered further by mutual agreement or negotiation. 

Idaho’s minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage, which currently stands at $7.25 per hour.  

Workers who earn more than $30 in tips are classified as tipped employees in the state. Employers in Idaho can pay tipped employees a reduced cash wage of $3.35 per hour, with a tip credit of $3.90. 

A tipped employee’s hourly cash wages and earned tips should amount to the state-mandated minimum wage. If not, the employer is required to make up the difference.

Under federal and Idaho labor laws, some employees are not subject to minimum wage requirements, including:

• Executives, professionals, administrative staff
• Outside salespersons
• Domestic service providers
• Minors aged under 20, who can be paid a training minimum wage of $4.25/hr for the first 90 calendar days of work
• Seasonal workers in non-profit camps
• Agricultural workers (under certain conditions)
• Minors aged under 16 years working part-time or odd jobs lasting a maximum of four hours with only one employer
• Tipped employees
• Student-learners, who may be paid 85% of the state minimum wage
• Disabled workers

In Idaho, contractors who work on federal projects for public buildings have their wages regulated by the Davis-Bacon Act. This act requires that contractors and any subcontractors they work with are paid at least the prevailing wage based on similar projects in the same geographical area, including fringe benefits. These wages and benefits are determined by the US Secretary of Labor.

Employees in Idaho must be paid at least once in a calendar month. Paydays must be decided when the employee is hired but should be set within 15 days after the employee’s pay period ends.

If a payday falls on a holiday or non-workday, the wages must be paid on the preceding workday

Idaho’s overtime laws adhere to the overtime guidelines set by the FLSA.  According to the act, non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours per week must receive additional overtime wages calculated at 1.5 times their standard hourly pay. State law does not require overtime wages to be paid for work done on holidays or the weekend.

This applies to any 168-hour weekly period that regularly occurs, even if it does not align with the calendar week. Overtime pay cannot be averaged for two or more workweeks. 

Federal and state regulations define any employee who earns a minimum of $844 per week (or $43,888 annually) as an exempt employee. Exempt employees are related to occupations including, but not limited to: 

• Executives, professional, administrative staff — including educators and computer workers
• Outside salespersons
• Staff at seasonal amusement and recreation establishments
• Casual babysitters
• Certain commissioned employees (auto, truck, farm equipment, and similar)
• Taxi drivers
• Farm workers
• Railroad and air carrier employees
• American vessel seamen
• Employees engaged in certain agricultural operations
• Employees of certain bulk petroleum distributors
• Employees in certain broadcasting stations including announcers and news editors
• Employees without a high school diploma, who can be required to spend up to 10 hours in a workweek on remedial training (paid at their regular hourly rate)
• Hospital and residential care staff working on a 14-day workweek

Employers in Idaho are not obligated by law to offer meal breaks or rest periods to their employees. However, if an employment contract includes these provisions, federal regulations apply to manage the breaks offered. 

Rest breaks lasting 20 minutes or less are considered part of an employee’s work hours and should be fairly compensated. Meal breaks lasting longer than 30 minutes are unpaid unless the employee is required to continue working during the break.

Following the federal PUMP Act, employers covered by the FLSA are required to allow nursing mothers to take a reasonable break for up to a year after giving birth every time they need to express breast milk. Breastfeeding employees must be provided a private area (that is not a bathroom) where they can express milk free from intrusion.

If the breastfeeding break lasts less than 20 minutes, it must be paid for in the same manner that regular employees are compensated for rest periods. Additional break time may not be compensated provided that the breastfeeding employee is completely relieved of their duties for the duration of the break. 

The following are the required leave types that Idaho employers must provide to their employees:

• Family and Medical Leave: The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) allows eligible employees to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave while protecting their jobs. Employees can take family and medical leave for qualifying reasons including the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, or caring for their own or an immediate family member’s serious sickness. To be eligible, employees must work for a covered employer for at least 12 months, accruing at least 1,250 work hours.
• Military Leave: Employees in Idaho can take 15 days of leave on a one-year period to train with the National Guard or the US Armed Forces. Employees taking military leave are guaranteed reemployment in their previous job position once their military service is completed. They are also entitled to accrue all benefits offered during their employment for the duration of the service.  
• Jury Duty Leave: State law does not allow employers to retaliate against, or terminate employees summoned for jury duty. However, if an employee takes jury duty leave, it is not paid. Violation of this policy can lead to a fine of up to $300. Employees wrongfully discharged for attending jury service can file a wage claim within 60 days of termination, which can lead to job reinstatement and recovery of lost wages and attorney fees. 
• Sick Leave: Employees in Idaho accrue 0.04615 hours of sick leave for every hour worked. Employees who work less than 20 hours in a week, less than 5 months, or in a non-pay status are not eligible to accrue sick leave. Employees can use sick leave to care for their own or a family member’s sickness, schedule doctor appointments, or for bereavement.

The following federal holidays will be observed in Idaho for 2025:

State law in Idaho recognizes any individual under the age of 18 as a minor. However, a minor can be considered emancipated if they are married or by the rule of law. The minimum age of employment in Idaho is 14. 

State law does not require work permits for minors employed in Idaho, however, employers must keep accurate employment records for all minors aged between 14 and 16.

Working hours for minors in Idaho vary based on their age. For minors aged under 14, employers cannot schedule work during school hours, before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m. Students employed by a public school may work a maximum of ten hours per week. 

Minors aged 16 or under can be scheduled to work 54 hours in a week, with a maximum of nine hours scheduled in a day. However, work hours can be scheduled only between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Under Idaho legislation, minors under the age of 14 are prohibited to work in: 

The FLSA prohibits certain occupations for minors employed in non-agricultural occupations, which include but are not limited to:  

• Handling or being near any type of explosives
• Operating a motor vehicle or working as an outside helper
• Mining or quarrying
• Logging
• Operating power-driven machinery
• Meat or poultry processing
• Roofing or scaffolding
• Jobs with exposure to radioactive materials