On August 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2021 regulation by the U.S. Department of Labor restricting employers’ use of the tip credit for tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The...more
Many employers make the mistake of assuming that employees can be treated as exempt so long as they have certain job titles or are paid a salary rather than an hourly wage. That error is especially common in small businesses...more
In 2018, Congress added a provision to the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibiting employers from retaining employee tips or allowing managers or supervisors to participate in a tip pooling arrangement. Today, the U.S....more
9/23/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Penalties ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
City Council approved the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance by unanimous vote on July 24, 2019. This past May marked the third time such an ordinance was proposed in City Council, and the language ultimately approved by City...more
7/25/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Covered Employees ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Local Ordinance ,
Manufacturers ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
This alert is the third installment in our series on Illinois’ new anti-harassment legislation, SB75, which is awaiting signature by Governor Pritzker. This alert focuses on new training requirements for private-sector...more
6/21/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On February 15, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2019-2, providing additional guidance for Wage and Hour Division staff regarding how to apply tip credit rules for employees who perform...more
2/20/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Descriptions ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Guidance ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Q. We use the tip credit for servers who work in our restaurant. When service is slow, we ask our servers to pitch in with other jobs around the restaurant, like sweeping up the dining room and cleaning the restroom. ...more
12/18/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Wage ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
If you’ve been paying attention to the news relating to wage and hour law (and really, who isn’t?), you may recently have heard quite a bit about new federal rules on tipped employees, and more recently Congress stepping in...more
4/12/2018
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
There’s been plenty of press regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rules governing employer treatment of tips. Commentators are debating whether the proposed changes are a sensible return to the four corners of...more
12/11/2017
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
If not, you might have a problem.
In 2011, the U.S. DOL published a regulation mandating that restaurants who count tips toward the minimum wage as permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act have to notify employees...more
Hospitality industry employers take note: If you claim a “tip credit” toward the minimum wage for any of your employees, you need to make sure that all tips are properly distributed to employees. A recent case from the Fifth...more
6/23/2016
/ 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
Earlier this year, we reported on a spike in the number of ADA public accommodation lawsuits being filed against businesses in Illinois. (FR Alert: Wave of ADA Public Accommodation Lawsuits Continues to Spread, Hits...more