Senior Associate Brent Hockaday authored the Modern Restaurant Management article titled, “How The New ‘Tipped Pool’ Rule May Impact Restaurant Employers.” The piece details the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) October 7th proposed rule regarding tipped employees. Hockaday notes, “This Rule could affect how employers utilize tip pools and employees who both traditionally earn and do not traditionally earn tips as part of their wages.” Hockaday breaks down specific proposed changes and likely legal challenges, commenting, “The proposed Rule would see certain changes that could affect how restaurant employers deploy scheduling and pay practices.” He adds, “The Rule aligns with the recent amendment to the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) that removes the ban of tip pooling to back-of-house staff.” Hockaday concludes by urging employers to pay attention to the proposed rule and its implications, “Restaurant owners should use this time to evaluate these changes, analyze their current pay practices, and make any needed preparations for the upcoming changes before finalization and the Department of Labor commences enforcement efforts.”

To read the full article, please click here.