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Restaurants Would Get More Flexibility With Workers' Tips Under Proposed Rule

Tips at a restaurant

A new rule proposed by the Labor Department would allow employers to require waitstaff and others to share their tips with kitchen staff. But labor advocates say it could allow bosses to take advantage of their workers. (studiocasper/Getty Images)

The Trump administration has proposed a new rule governing the wages of tipped employees, after an earlier effort sparked a backlash from waitstaff, bartenders and other workers.

The proposed rule from the Labor Department would allow employers to require more widespread sharing of tips with "back of the house" coworkers, such as cooks and dishwashers. The rule makes clear, however, that employers cannot pocket those tips or use them to reward managers and supervisors.

The rule would also give employers more flexibility in assigning non-tipped tasks to workers who rely on gratuities for a big part of their income.

The proposal was cheered by the restaurant industry. But workers' advocates and some lawmakers say they still have some concerns.

"This rule establishes once and for all an appropriate balance, and ends arbitrary and capricious regulations," said Angelo Amador, regulatory counsel for the National Restaurant Association. "We commend the U.S. Department of Labor for providing much needed regulatory clarity."

The restaurant association tried for years to overturn a decades-old policy — codified by the Obama administration — that tips belong to the workers who receive them. In late 2017, the Labor Department proposed a rule to give business owners more authority to redistribute tips. Critics said the rule was written so broadly that owners could even keep tips for themselves.

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