U.S. Department of Labor Changes Rule for Tipped and Non-Tipped Work
February 3, 2019 via Hotel Executive
The U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division ("DOL") recently revoked its so-called "80/20 rule" for employees who receive tips. This "rule" had attempted to provide guidance about what happens where restaurant servers and other tipped employees work on tasks that don't directly generate tips, such as rolling silverware or wiping tables. The rule generally stated that where a tipped employee spent a "substantial amount of time (in excess of 20 percent) performing general preparation work or maintenance," the employer could not take a tip credit and needed to pay the employee the full minimum wage. Unfortunately, the rule also resulted in an astounding amount of litigation against hotel and restaurant companies by employees who claimed they had spent over twenty percent of their time doing things besides waiting on customers. Although the DOL's new interpretation still poses some questions, it should stem at least some of the tide of wage and hour litigation in the hospitality industry.
Managing employees is no easy task, especially in an industry like hospitality that requires a large number of employees to provide the services guests need at the property level and the operational processes that keep the company running at the corporate level.
How to Conduct Criminal Background Checks the Right Way February 8, 2019 via Cozen O'Connor
Criminal background checks are helpful in not only identifying applicants who might not be suitable for a job, but in limiting the potential liability associated with negligent hiring claims.
