While the New York State Department of Labor’s new Hospitality Industry Wage Order clarified many wage and hour issues for industry employers, the appropriateness of tip pool participation of certain categories of employee continues to be an area of uncertainty. On January 13, 2011, Federal District Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted summary judgment to Manhattan restaurant
196-d
New York Hospitality Wage Order Goes Final: New Rules Effective 1/1/11
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in New York State
Yesterday, the New York State Department of Labor issued the final version of the new Hospitality Industry Wage Order, as previously discussed here and here. The final Wage Order, substantially revises various long-standing New York industry rules, including, the tip credit amount, permissibility of tip pooling, and spread of hours calculations. The Final Wage Order includes…
NY Appellate Court Holds That World Yacht Applies Retroactively
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in New York State
In Samiento v World Yacht, 10 NY3d 70 (2008), the New York Court of Appeals held that whether a labeled service charge is a “gratuity” for purposes of N.Y. Labor Law § 196-d that must be distributed to service staff depends on the “reasonable customer’s” understanding. One of the many questions unanswered by the decision…