Tip Credit/Dual Jobs Regulation
The Department of Labor’s new dual jobs regulation that took effect December 28 states that restaurants cannot take a tip credit for the time spent on tasks considered “directly supporting work” that exceeds 20% of the workweek or 30 continuous minutes. Last November, the Restaurant Law Center filed an emergency lawsuit challenging the regulation and asking for an immediate injunction. It is expected that the court will allow the new regulations to remain in effect until February.
 
It is important to continue to take steps to comply with the new rules. Actions to consider taking include:
  • Conducting an audit of the job duties performed by your tipped employees.
  • Training managers on the new requirements.
  • Implementing new policies and procedures on side work.
  • Changing staffing model to hire new staff to perform side work tasks.
  • Adopting new timekeeping protocols for tipped employees.