Are Overtime Wages and Tips Exempt From Income Tax? What Employers Need to Know to Prepare
FLSA and Wage and Hour Issues for Restaurants
#WorkforceWednesday: Mandatory Vaccination, Tipped Worker Rule, and SCOTUS Rules Against Organized Labor - Employment Law This Week®
Reporting Cash Tips to the IRS [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 24]
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC Withdraws, DOL Rolls Back, and OSHA Expands - Employment Law This Week®
II-36- Holiday Party Tips, the 2018/2019 Federal Regulatory Agenda, and Noteworthy Cases On Suing and Being Sued
On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2025-1 pertaining to managers’ participation in a tip pool at a “quick service restaurant.” ...more
On election day Massachusetts voters were given the opportunity to vote on the Fair Wage for Tipped Workers Act, a ballot measure, referred to as Question 5, that would have gradually increased pay for tipped workers until it...more
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
Massachusetts voters will decide this November whether employers may continue taking a “tip credit” and paying tipped employees below the state’s standard minimum wage. While restaurant industry representatives fought to keep...more
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
The tip wars between hospitality employers and employees continue unabated. Numerous lawsuits contend that restaurants and other employers wrongfully retain or require sharing of customer gratuities, as well as violate Fair...more
Recent news of six-digit demands and lawsuits filed by the Department of Labor against multiple Oregon-based institutional restaurant chains has local businesses across the service industry wondering: “Are we tipping our...more
Tipping is everywhere: the coffee shop, the florist, and even the dry cleaner! This booming tip culture has led many employers that may not have traditionally established a tip pool to consider using one to ease the impact of...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), business owners and managers may not share in their servers’ tips. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced recoveries against two restaurants...more
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
Dear Littler, We operate sandwich shops in a couple of states. Although we have tables, we don’t have table service, and customers pick up food at the counter themselves to either take out or seat themselves at our...more
In the restaurant/service industry, gratuities (To Ensure Prompt Service or “tips”) motivate individuals to seek employment. Everywhere you turn, even if you did not receive any real service, workers are seeking tips....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
On March 23, 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law Senate Bill 73 (“SB 73”) expanding the group of employees eligible for tip pooling by allowing employers to include non-tipped employees in a bona fide tip pooling...more
Federal wage officials recently announced that two Florida restaurants with common ownership failed to properly calculate overtime pay when their employees worked at both locations in the same workweek – sending a stark...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
Employees in a restaurant setting often receive tips, and employers often take a “tip credit” toward the minimum wage that they have to pay (allowing the employer in Arkansas to pay $2.63/hour to the tipped employee if the...more
On June 28, 2022, Rhode Island enacted new “tip protection” legislation. The law, which applies to all employers of tipped employees, prohibits employers from retaining employee tips, creates new requirements for tip pools,...more
On June 28, 2022, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed new “tip protection” legislation. The statute prohibits employers of tipped employees from retaining employee tips, creates new requirements for tip pools, and sets...more
For years, Kentucky has been one of the few outlier states that further complicated tip pooling by requiring all tip pools to be voluntary. While federal regulations have flipped and flopped with the tide of the changing...more
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
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
Beginning December 28, 2021, employers must pay tipped employees the full minimum wage for periods when non tip-producing work is performed for a substantial amount of time, in light of a new Department of Labor (DOL) Final...more
Tip Credits under the Fair Labor Standards Act - The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) generally permits employers to pay tipped employees less than the minimum hourly wage, provided that the tips the employee receives are...more
Federal labor officials just finalized a rule that broadens their ability to assess monetary fines against those business that commit wage and hour violations with regards to tip payments, a development several months in the...more