Labor Dept. Ditches Data on Worker Tips Retained by Businesses

Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that potentially billions of dollars in gratuities could be transferred from workers to their employers, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law.

The agency shelved the economic analysis, compiled by DOL staff, from a December proposal to scrap an Obama administration rule. The Obama rule banned certain tip pooling arrangements that involve restaurant servers and other workers who make tips and back-of-the-house workers who don’t. The proposal to reverse the Obama rule sparked outrage from worker advocates who said ...