Today’s FIFA World Cup draw – where each nation learns the opponents they will play at next year’s tournament and each host city learns which teams they will welcome – should be a wake-up call for businesses that the time to...more
12/8/2025
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Disruption ,
Data Privacy ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marketing ,
Public Accommodation ,
Soccer ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Cup
Is an oyster shucker who works in the “front of the house” allowed to share in the tip pool? Are a hotel restaurant and related members club joint employers for overtime purposes? The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently...more
10/6/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Opinion Letter ,
Over-Time ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Employers got a sneak peek at the jobs that will qualify for the “no tax on tips” deduction over the holiday weekend thanks to a list obtained by Axios. The September 1 release provides the first real clarity on which...more
9/3/2025
/ Best Practices ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Federal Taxes ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Income Taxes ,
One Big Beautiful Bill Act ,
Over-Time ,
Personal Services ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
U.S. Treasury
Don’t have the energy to slog through the 1,127 (or so) pages of the legislative text, amendments, and explanatory materials that comprise the final version of the “Big Beautiful Bill” to see how it impacts labor and...more
7/8/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Taxes ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Income Taxes ,
Medicaid ,
Over-Time ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor (DOL) just rolled back a Biden-era practice of demanding that employers pay liquidated damages – in an amount equal to back pay – to resolve wage and hour investigations. The Trump administration...more
7/3/2025
/ Back Pay ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investigations ,
Liquidated Damages ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Statutory Authority ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Many employers in hospitality and other service industries take the tip credit toward their minimum wage obligation under federal wage and hour law – but complying with evolving rules has been challenging in recent years....more
Visitors from around the world will descend on the U.S., Mexico, and Canada next year as the three countries jointly host FIFA's 2026 World Cup -- and your business might want to start preparing already. It’s being billed as...more
1/10/2025
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Disruption ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Marketing ,
Public Accommodation ,
Soccer ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Technology ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Cup
If you take the tip credit for employees that receive gratuities, you’ll want to review your policies and practices in light of Monday’s game-changing announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The Department...more
Less than two years from now, visitors from around the world will descend on the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, as the three countries jointly host FIFA’s 2026 World Cup – and your business might want to start preparing already....more
10/11/2024
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Disruption ,
Business Operations ,
Business Opportunities ,
Data Privacy ,
Employment Policies ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Marketing ,
Public Accommodation ,
Soccer ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Visitors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Cup
There’s been a lot of buzz about tipped wages as Election Day approaches – and hospitality employers will want to track key proposals that may have a huge impact on pay practices. Former President Trump and Vice President...more
9/3/2024
/ Ballot Measures ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Service Charges ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
A federal appeals court just delivered some good news to hospitality employers by blocking the Department of Labor’s infamous 80/20/30 rule, providing immediate relief to employers around the country by vacating the...more
8/26/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Many employers are planning to reclassify employees to non-exempt status now that the Labor Department is significantly raising the salary threshold for employees to be exempt from overtime pay. You likely know that...more
A North Carolina restaurant franchisee has agreed to pay $40,000 and take other corrective measures to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC after being accused of denying a cook’s...more
8/20/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
Many restaurants utilize tip pools to encourage teamwork, consistency, and customer-focused service – but you may be confused about who can and can’t participate in the pool. You feel confident that your servers and...more
5/17/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Hotel staff often include a mix of tipped and non-tipped jobs, but following wage and hour rules isn’t always easy, particularly if employees perform a variety of tasks. Some workers — such as servers and bartenders — may...more
9/13/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Last week’s news that the Labor Department is proposing a hefty increase to the weekly salary requirement to qualify employees for the overtime exemption has put the spotlight on how much you pay your employees – but that...more
9/6/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Poor Job Performance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A federal court just refused to block the U.S. Department of Labor’s infamous 80/20 rule, which applies to employers that take the tip credit toward their minimum wage obligation under federal wage and hour law – which means...more
An appeals court just raised the bar for employees seeking to notify other potential plaintiffs about collective wage and hour claims under federal law. Employees may bring such claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act on...more
Do you utilize a tip pool in your restaurant? If so, you are likely aware of the various rules on maintaining a valid, lawful tip pool under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable state laws. You surely...more
A federal appeals court just ruled that paid time off (PTO) is not a part of an employee’s salary under federal wage and hour law, shutting down an inventive attempt by plaintiffs’ attorneys to find a new way to assert wage...more
More than a year after the US Department of Labor announced the return of the time-keeping nightmare that is the 80/20 rule with new tweaks that encourage even more litigation, the agency just released new guidance that...more
Employers in the hospitality industry have been through it all in recent years – from the devastation of the pandemic to ongoing labor shortages to an impending recession. These challenges and dramatic changes have surely...more
1/19/2023
/ Bonuses ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Managers ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Salaried Employees ,
Service Charges ,
Supervisors ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Restaurants’ reliance on food delivery apps soared during the pandemic because they provide a convenient way for customers to order from local restaurants and an easy solution for processing restaurant payments and sourcing...more
10/4/2022
/ Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Mobile Apps ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Employers in the restaurant and hospitality industries know it’s a common practice to ask workers to share gratuities. Tip pools can promote teamwork and a better customer experience – but they can also land you in hot water...more
5/19/2022
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Hospitality employers who utilize the “tip credit” under federal wage and hour law may feel as if they operate with a bullseye on their backs given the multi-prong assault underway against the practice. Not only are you in...more