While Department of Labor regulations interpreting the FLSA remain the primary source of employer guidance regarding the Act’s requirements, they are not necessarily the final word on what federal wage law requires. This is so even where they have been subject to “notice and comment,” triggering a higher level of judicial deference. A federal court
Tips
Joining Ninth Circuit, Fourth Circuit Rejects Cause of Action to Recover Gratuities Under FLSA When No Tip Credit Taken
In accordance with the Ninth Circuit and several other federal court rulings, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit yesterday held that an employee cannot bring a claim for wages based on allegedly misappropriated gratuities under the FLSA unless the employer used the tip credit set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 203(m). Trejo…
Massachusetts Highest Court Holds Businesses Not Required to Permit Tipping Under State Law
In 2013, New York’s highest state court considered which employees are eligible to participate in sharing tips from a communal tip jar, and even if eligible, whether the employer could nonetheless exclude them from participating. The New York court held an employer may exclude employees from sharing in tips even if they would otherwise be…
New York Wage Board Issues Recommendation Regarding Tip Credit
Completing its task assigned by former Commissioner of Labor Peter Rivera, the current New York Wage Board has issued its recommended findings to the Commissioner with respect to tip credit issues. Most importantly for hospitality employers – an industry sector which includes many small, low-margin businesses – if approved by the Commissioner, the available…
Vote To Eliminate Tip Credit In New York Fails
As reported by our colleagues at the New York State Restaurant Association, the current Wage Board, convened to examine the state of the tip credit under New York law, today voted on, but ultimately rejected, a motion to eliminate the tip credit entirely. Tip credits under federal and state wage laws permit an…
Florida Federal Court Holds Cashiers Are Proper Tip Pool Participants
The legality of a given employee’s participation in a tip pool under the FLSA turns on whether the participants are “Tipped employees” under 29 U.S.C. § 203(t). The specific question is whether they “engaged in an occupation in which [they] customarily and regularly receive[] more than $ 30 a month in tips.” A new decision…
Manhattan Restaurant Prevails On Wage-and-Hour Claims Following Trial
Demoralized by the attendant costs of litigation and a shifting compliance environment in numerous jurisdictions, many hospitality industry employers have resolved wage-and-hour lawsuits brought in New York City and elsewhere over the last number of years. Bucking this trend, one such employer recently successfully defended its wage practices at trial. Mendez v. Int’l Food House…
Supreme Court Declines Skycaps’ Appeal of Tip Claim Preemption Ruling
Presumably ending the long-running litigation regarding whether certain Massachusetts skycaps’ common law claims challenging the imposition of a $2 curbside baggage handling fee that allegedly caused a reduction in tips are preempted, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of the First Circuit’s 2013 decision finding those claims preempted by the Airline…
Citing To Precedent, Nevada Federal Court Rejects FLSA Tip Claim Asserted By Workers Receiving Minimum Wage
A Nevada federal court’s decision is consistent with other recent federal court decisions holding that an employee has no claim for allegedly misappropriated gratuities under § 203(m) of the FLSA if no tip credit is taken and the employee receives the full minimum wage before tips, as the FLSA does not create a property right…
Nevada Supreme Court Okays Tip Pooling
Providing guidance on some longstanding ambiguity regarding the meaning of Nevada’s statute on tip pooling, Nevada’s highest court ruled that an employer may impose mandatory tip pooling on employees and determine to which employees tips may be distributed. The Wynn casino’s tip pooling policy, which was reviewed by the Court and required pooled tips to be…