Restaurant servers typically depend on tips for the majority of their earnings. | Image Source: wikimedia.org - Credit: Roman Harak
Restaurant servers typically depend on tips for the majority of their earnings. | Image Source: wikimedia.org - Credit: Roman Harak
A coalition of attorneys general, joined by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, has filed a last-ditch effort to stop employers from withholding tips from their employees.
The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Labor rule that eliminates the longstanding "80/20 Rule," which has protected tipped employees in the past, according to the Department of the Attorney General at Michigan.gov. This rule makes sure all workers making $3.67 or less -- which is only possible because of the "tip credit" -- are spending at least 80% of their workday doing activities for which they can expect to be tipped.
The new rule would eliminate the 20% cap on non-tipped work, which could dramatically cut into earnings for these workers.
Attorney General Dana Nessel
| Dana Nessel/Twitter
"This rule stands to hurt at least 100,000 service workers in Michigan who rely heavily on tips to care for their families. The pandemic has already caused an uphill battle for the service industry, and finalizing a rule that further impedes their ability to earn a living is unconscionable,” Nessel said in the press release.
The rule contradicts the purpose of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes protections for the workplace, including minimum wage and overtime.
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