National Restaurant Association Asks Supreme Court to Rule on Tip Sharing

The existing regulations prohibit sharing tips with cooks and dishwashers.

January 23, 2017

WASHINGTON – Last week, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving tip sharing with cooks and dishwashers, Nation’s Restaurant News reports. National Restaurant Association et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor et al. also has the Alaska, Oregon and Washington state restaurant associations included in the case.

The request comes as a result of a continuing court battle in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the U.S. Department of Labor’s prohibition against sharing tips with employees who don’t usually receive them, such as chefs, dishwashers and cooks. In the NRA’s view, that is discriminatory.

“The Department of Labor has completely overstepped its regulatory authority and is unfairly discriminating against those restaurant employees who work in the back of the house,” said Angelo Amador, the NRA’s senior vice president and regulatory counsel. “The law here is clear: Employees who earn above minimum wage should be able to share their tips with fellow employees, no matter where they work. The Department of Labor cannot continue to trample on the rights of restaurant workers.”

There’s no guarantee the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case, but Amador is seeking clarification on a matter that has become contentious and complicated. This petition is one of the first cases by the new Restaurant Law Center, an advocacy group created by the association to help them defend the industry from government overregulation on all levels.

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