USDOL’s Wage & Hour Division Issues Internal Guidance Regarding Elimination of the “80/20” Tip Credit Rule

Last November, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2018-27, rescinding the so-called “80/20” Tip Credit Rule, a provision that during the last decade had spawned a cottage industry of “80/20” cases. These cases sought to dissect the duties of a server between those that allegedly generated tips and those that did not (e.g., refilling condiment bottles while waiting for customers to arrive), and to invalidate the tip credit for the period during which a server performed such non-tip-generating duties.