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 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
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
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
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
With the government’s final rules on the tips provisions of federal wage and hour law becoming effective just weeks ago, employers will be challenged with ensuring they have a plan to address the rules’ impact on their...more
1/27/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor just issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will affect most businesses with tipped employees if the business utilizes the tip-credit method of payment. The thrust of this proposal is the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a long-awaited final rule right before Christmas addressing the issue of tipped employees. The final rule, released on December 22 but not effective until February 20, 2021, provides...more
12/29/2020
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Two recent opinion letters from the U.S Department of Labor (USDOL) examine the contours of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) “outside salesman” exemption, which exempts covered employees from the FLSA’s minimum...more
Employers that utilize the “tip credit” in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), or whose employees receive tips, should carefully consider regulatory changes that were proposed by USDOL today. While many of the...more
10/8/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Operations Manual ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
Hotel and restaurant employers commonly require employees to wear uniforms, some as simple as a shirt with company logo, others requiring a more complete look: jacket or blouse and pants or skirt, or dress. Some employers,...more
6/11/2019
/ Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Statutory Violations ,
Wage and Hour
On February 15, the U.S. Department of Labor struck another nail into the coffin of the infamous “20% Rule,” the agency’s prior enforcement position which purported to limit an employer’s ability to take the federal Fair...more
2/19/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Operations Manual ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) issued four opinion letters yesterday in which it construed issues arising under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The most significant of these letters, FLSA2018-27,...more
11/9/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Wage ,
Opinion Letter ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Timekeeping ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Section 3(m) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") permits an employer to take the "tip credit" for "tipped employees". Certain requirements must be met though, including that the employee must earn a sufficient...more
As we previously wrote, Congress has now amended Section 3(m) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to prohibit an employer from "keep[ing] tips received by its employees for any purpose, including allowing managers...more
3/30/2018
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime requirements, period. The FLSA does not explicitly require that employers cover all work-related costs, nor, does it do so by specifically...more
We have previously written about the U.S. Department of Labor's position adopted in 2011 saying that an employer may not retain any of an employee's tips even if management:
• Takes no tip-credit under the federal Fair...more
12/6/2017
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Legal issues surrounding tip credits have been in the spotlight throughout much of 2017, from significant court decisions to announcements by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). But rather than setting forth clear rules,...more
12/4/2017
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
In a welcome decision for employers, the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (having jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) recently ruled that a tipped employee for whom no federal Fair Labor Standards Act "tip...more
6/15/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dismissals ,
Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Right of Action ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
As we recently reported, the U.S. Department of Labor's changes in its regulations governing the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and Section 13(b)(21) overtime exemption for "live-in...more
9/15/2015
/ Appeals ,
Companionship Exemptions ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Register ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
A federal judge has scuttled key aspects of the U.S. Department of Labor's rule that would have extended the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum-wage and overtime requirements to many home care workers starting January...more