DOL Publishes Final Tips Rule Pushed by Restaurant Owners

The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule that allows businesses to pay more tipped workers the lower minimum wage of $2.13 an hour.

The new rule released Tuesday allows employers to pay the lower minimum wage for tipped workers regardless of how much time workers spend on tasks that don’t generate gratuities. Previously, tipped workers who spent at least 20% of their workweek on duties that don’t produce tips—such as rolling silverware into napkins or cleaning—were entitled to the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for that time. The interpretation was first added to DOL’s enforcement handbook ...