Question

In cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the _____ minimum wage.

federal
state
higher
lower

Answer 1

federal law usually supersedes state law, but in this case they get a minimum of the higher of the two.

Answer 2

"Federal. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires a minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers with the expectation that wages plus tips total no less than $7.25 per hour. The employer must pay the difference if total income does not add up to $7.25 per hour." This is only true if the federal minimum wage is higher than the state level. In CA, the minimum wage is 10 USD and all employees will get the higher wage in this case.