5.30.14  

  Thompson's HR Compliance Expert  

 

Kara M. Maciel was quoted in an article titled "Six Tips on Not Getting Tripped Up by FLSA's Tipped Employee Rules." 

 

An excerpt:

 

Employers need to make sure they are following both federal Fair Labor Standards Act requirements and state laws regarding tipped employees, said Kara Maciel of the firm Epstein Becker Green during a recent seminar focused on tipped employees. …

 

However, every state has its own set of rules regarding tipped workers and employers must make sure they also are compliant with those local requirements. States such as Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York are particularly challenging and in some cases have seen increased litigation over tip practices in recent years, Maciel noted. …

 

To make sure employers are compliant with the FLSA and relevant state laws Maciel recommends companies with tipped workers take the following steps:

 

• Decide if having tipped workers makes sense for the business.

• Decide if using a tip credit is the best practice.

• Determine how much time employees are engaged in tipped and non-tipped tasks, and make sure the non-tipped tasks don't take up more than 20 percent of the employee's time.

• Communicate all policies regarding tips to employees clearly, preferably in writing.

• Make sure that no employees who could arguably be considered employers are included in the tip pool.

 

If mandatory tip pooling is in place, employers must make sure that the specific policies and the amount required for the tip pool are clearly communicated.