The Labor Department has issued new enforcement rules for investigating businesses for potentially improperly paying food servers and other tipped workers.
The Field Assistance Bulletin, and the updated section of the Field Operations Handbook, tracks the approach the department explained in a November opinion letter. The DOL in that letter said waiters who rely on tips for wages but have non-tip-producing duties that are incidental to their main job—such as washing dishes or cleaning tables—don’t have to be paid full minimum wage for time spent on those duties.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay workers at least ...