Side Work In the News

What The Returning 80/20 Tipping Rule Could Mean For Restaurant Workers

From Mashed: "It helps ensure that tipped workers are treated with dignity and respect, and that they receive wages appropriate for the work they perform," says Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division, in the press release. Most importantly, if the worker performs labor that is not tip-producing for more than 20% of their time, the work they do would no longer be considered as part of the tipped occupation.

Tipped Workers to Get More Pay for Side Work in DOL Proposal

From Bloomberg Law: "In what would be a crucial update to the prior 80/20 policy, the new DOL regulation proposed that tipped workers would also be owed the higher hourly rate when fulfilling side tasks for at least 30 continuous minutes, regardless of weekly hours."

Steak N Shake Violations with Tipped Employees FLSA, Ohio Class Action

From Class Actions Reporter: "It required employees to perform untipped work for more than 20% of their working hours. The complaint records this work as 'cleaning and stocking the serving line, cleaning booths, cleaning chairs, cleaning menus, cleaning soft drink dispensers and nozzles, cleaning tables, filling and cleaning ketchup and syrup bottles, filling and cleaning salt and pepper shakers, stocking ice, sweeping floors, rolling silverware, and taking out trash.'"

Former employees of Last Resort Grill sue for wage violations

From The Red & Black: "The restaurant allegedly paid the plaintiffs tipped minimum wage for all hours worked, including “side-work” tasks of cleaning bathrooms, changing tablecloths, cutting up produce, rolling silverware and sweeping the parking lot, including the disposal of dead animals. The tipped wage was $2.13 per hour for servers and $5.50 for bartenders."

‘This is a real job’: Philly’s restaurant workers dissect the labor shortage, and contemplate a different future

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: “It doesn’t seem like much,” Adamo said, “but there’s been so many times that I’ve worked a long double and still had to spend another 2 hours cleaning for free basically after customers destroyed the restaurant or we just had a very busy night.”

Nashville restaurant workers awarded $628K in wage theft lawsuit settlements

From the Tennessean: "The restaurant also allegedly required tipped employees to spend more than 20% of their shifts performing work that would not produce tips (such as cleaning, preparing place settings and attending meetings). The lawsuit claimed these requirements disqualify Strategic Hospitality from the ability to use tip credits to meet federal minimum wage requirements, putting the $2.13 hourly wage in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act."

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The #StopTheSideWork campaign is a project of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – the nation’s largest restaurant worker rights’ group. To learn more about our work & victories, go to rocunited.org or follow us on the social media pages below.