Trump admin hiding truth about plan to skim workers' tips

When Americans leave a tip at the table after dinner at a restaurant, they expect it will end up in the hands of servers and bussers, not the owner’s wallet—but that’s exactly what a new rule proposed by the US Department of Labor will result in, according to an analysis being withheld by the Trump administration.

The new rule is ostensibly designed to allow tips to be pooled and shared among workers; for example, waitstaff at a restaurant could share a percentage of their total tips with cooks and dishwashers, helping redress pay inequity that is hurting the broader restaurant industry.

That hidden catch in the new rule? Restaurant owners would be allowed to keep the tips for themselves as long as they are paying workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25. (Some tipped workers receive a much lower hourly wage, just over $2 an hour in some states, and they would not fall under this proposal.)

A minimum wage, however, is rarely a living wage in the United States, and most tipped workers depend on gratuities to cover the cost of living. If their bosses are given the ability to siphon off a share of their tips, will they?

Bloomberg Law is reporting that a study attempting to estimate the impact of this rule on workers has been quashed. The study suggested that billions of dollars in tips would be diverted to owners’ pockets, and labor secretary Alex Acosta’s staff ultimately decided not to release it to the public while the rule can be commented on.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-admin-hiding-truth-about-plan-to-skim-workers-tips/ar-BBIzmBp?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=edgsp

Dem lawmakers call on Labor Department to rescind tip-pooling rule

House Democrats are calling on the Department of Labor to withdraw it’s proposed tip-pooling rule following a report that agency officials hid an unfavorable economic analysis.

Bobby Scott (Va.), the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Rep. Mark Takano (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, said the public cannot fully comment on the rule without access to all the information.

Bloomberg Law reported Thursday that senior department officials withheld a report showing that employees could lose billions of dollars in tips if the agency changes the Fair Labor Standards Act and allows employers to pool the tips of workers who make at least the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour.

The proposal did not include employees who make less than the federal minimum wage and earn tips to supplement their pay.

http://thehill.com/regulation/371822-dem-lawmaker-calls-on-labor-deparment-to-rescind-tip-pooling-rule