Most Americans who go to restaurants are aware that tips make up a large portion of their servers’ wages. People may be less aware that the law governing tips and tip pooling is currently in a state of flux due to last minute regulating by the outgoing Trump Administration and quick changes made by the new Biden Administration. For the time being, issues related to tips and tip pools may be one of the most complicated areas of wage and hour law.
Articles Discussing The Minimum Wage Under The FLSA.
Department of Labor Issues Two Tip-Related Opinion Letters in Final Days of Outgoing Administration
On January 15, 2021, the U.S.
Labor Department Issues Another Minimum Wage Rule for High-Skilled Workers
Apparently undeterred by prior litigation striking it down, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published another rule in the Federal Register raising minimum wages for high-skilled workers. The “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States” Rule (Wage Protection Rule) will go
Sharing is Caring: DOL Expands Tip Pool and Dumps 80/20 Rule
Executive Summary: On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final rule regarding expansion of tip pool sharing and limitations on the 80/20 rule. This long-awaited final rule codifies three main points: employers are (1) permitted to include “back-of-the-house” employees who usually do not receive tips (such as cooks and dishwashers) as part of a tip pool, (2) prohibited from allowing management from keeping employees’ tips or participating in tip-pooling arrangements, and (3) permitted to take a tip credit regardless of the amount of non-tip generating work (such as cleaning tables or rolling silverware) a tipped employee performs as long as it is performed contemporaneously with his/her tipped duties, or within a reasonable time immediately before or after performing tipped duties.
DOL Issues Final Rule on Handling Tips and Eliminating the 80/20 Rule
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule solidifying tip credit issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule becomes effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.1
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Rule About Tip Pooling
December 24, 2020
Introduction
On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule addressing important issues for the restaurant industry. The rule provides guidance on when employers may require employees to pool (or share) tips and the extent to which employers may use the “tip credit” when employees perform traditionally non-tipped duties, such as preparing tables for guests and making coffee. The new rule will take effect on February 20, 2021.
Labor Department Issues Final Rule on Tip Pooling Amendments, Elimination of ‘20%’ Dual Jobs Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its long-awaited Final Rule addressing who may share tips under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the circumstances under which employers may use a tip credit.
WPI Wage Watch: Minimum Wage, Tip, and Overtime Developments (December Edition)
We remember when legislative and regulatory developments rarely occurred in December, but those days are behind us.
Minimum Wage, Tipped and Exempt Employee Pay in 2020: A Rates-Only Update
Minimum wage laws can affect businesses of all sizes, whether operating nationwide, in multiple jurisdictions, or only in one state, county, or city. To help manage this challenge, below we provide a rates-only update that details scheduled state- and local-level wage increases throughout 2020 so employers can determine the minimum amount they must pay non-exempt, tipped, and certain exempt employees.
WPI Wage Watch: Minimum Wage, Tip, and Overtime Developments (October Edition)
This October there are no tricks, but there are plenty of treats (assuming you have a sweet tooth for minimum wage, overtime, and tip developments at all levels of government).
DOL Announces 2020 Minimum Wage Increases for Federal Contractors
The September 19, 2019 edition of the Federal Register includes the updated minimum wage rates that must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by Executive Order (E.O.) 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors. Beginning January 1, 2020, federal contractors must pay covered workers at least $10.80 per hour. The Department of Labor also gave notice that beginning January 1, 2020, covered tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts must be paid a cash wage of at least $7.55 per hour.
House Passes $15 Minimum Wage; Unlikely to Proceed in Senate
On July 18, 2019, voting largely along party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $15.00 an hour by 2025.
U.S. House of Representatives Passes $15 Minimum Wage Bill
After six months of primarily internal Democratic Party wrangling, on July 18, 2019 the House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act, which, if it became law, would progressively increase the federal minimum wage to $15.00 per hour over a six-year period. The House passage of the Bill comes at a time when an increasing number of states and local jurisdictions already have enacted minimum wage laws well above the federal minimum, which has been set at $7.25 per hour for a decade. Currently, more than half of the States have minimum wage rates higher than the federal minimum.
WPI Wage Watch: Minimum Wage, Tip, and Overtime Developments (April Edition)
We’ll spare you the taxing introduction and jump straight to itemizing developments concerning the minimum wage, tips, and overtime.
WPI Wage Watch: Minimum Wage, Tip, and Overtime Developments (March Edition)
It was a busy third month of 2019, so we will march right into discussing developments concerning the minimum wage, tips, and overtime.