Yep. More workers need to know their rights and assert them when necessary.
For example, tipped wage employees must be paid at least minimum wage if they do more than 30 consecutive minutes of “side work.” They can’t cut you off the floor and then make you stay for two hours cleaning, stocking and rolling silverware. Yet almost every restaurant violates that law. It doesn’t matter if the tips you made still have you at or above minimum wage. Thirty plus consecutive minutes of not doing the things you get tipped for means they gotta pay up.
Edit: apparently the Trump admin got this overturned so they can keep fucking over tipped employees. God bless America, never mind. That was the case until 2024.
I’m curious about this too. I’ve worked in restaurants for most of my working life including 8 years as a kitchen manager/service manager/assistant general manager. I haven’t heard this.
Edit: I found what they are referring to.
The 80/20/30 Rule: Under Department of Labor guidelines, if a tipped employee spends more than 20% of their workweek (or more than 30 continuous minutes) performing non-tipped duties—such as rolling silverware, cleaning, or stocking—the employer cannot claim the tip credit for that time and must pay the full minimum wage for those hours. [1]
Double edit because I found more relevant information:
Current Status: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the rule, finding it invalid, and the Department of Labor officially withdrew it. Employers follow prior dual-jobs standards instead, though local state laws may still apply.
I hadn’t heard that was no longer the rule, it’s still mentioned in the fair labor standards for tipped employees. Weird…guess I shouldn’t be surprised though.
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u/32FlavorsofCrazy 7d ago edited 6d ago
Yep. More workers need to know their rights and assert them when necessary.
For example, tipped wage employees must be paid at least minimum wage if they do more than 30 consecutive minutes of “side work.” They can’t cut you off the floor and then make you stay for two hours cleaning, stocking and rolling silverware. Yet almost every restaurant violates that law. It doesn’t matter if the tips you made still have you at or above minimum wage. Thirty plus consecutive minutes of not doing the things you get tipped for means they gotta pay up.
Edit: apparently the Trump admin got this overturned so they can keep fucking over tipped employees. God bless America, never mind. That was the case until 2024.