Department of Labor to Delay Portions of 2020 Tip Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday confirmed it’s delaying portions of the 2020 tip final rule until December 31.

The remainder will go into effect April 30, including rules that address the following:

A prohibition on employers, including supervisors and managers, keeping tips received by workers, regardless of whether the employer takes a credit for workers’ tips toward their obligation to pay those workers minimum wage.

READ MORE: What New Restaurant Tipping Regulations Could Mean for the Industry

The recordkeeping requirements for an employer that does not take a tip credit to include non-tipped workers, such as cooks and dishwashers, in nontraditional tip-sharing arrangements.

An employer that collects tips for tip pools must distribute tips fully no later than the regular payday for the workweek or pay period in which the establishment collected the tips.

The DOL said the eight-month extension allows it time to address additional questions of law, policy, and fact, and also to complete separate rulemaking related to the assessment of civil money penalties. Additionally, examine the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s tip credit provision to tipped employees who also perform non-tipped work.

“Tipped workers are among those hardest hit amid the pandemic, making these essential frontline workers a priority for the Wage and Hour Division,” Wage and Hour Division Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman, said in a statement. “The final rule announced today ensures that we have time to consider—fully and thoughtfully—all of the circumstances in today’s rapidly changing workplace, while allowing several portions of the 2020 rule beneficial to essential workers to take effect. Those workers deserve our careful and thoughtful consideration as we craft and implement rules that affect their well-being.”

Here’s a look at the final rule.