Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has reissued a
long-awaited opinion letter withdrawing its previous 20% tip credit
rule and making clear that "no limit is placed on the amount
of [related but non-tipped] duties that may be performed," so
long as they are performed "contemporaneously with the duties
involving direct service or for a reasonable time immediately
before or after" direct service.
For about a decade, restaurant employers have faced the daunting
prospect of collective and class action litigation by their servers
and bartenders paid under the tip credit claiming that they spent
more than 20% of their time on so-called side work that didn't
directly produce tips Without incredibly detailed time records
showing exactly when each server engaged in each of their various
duties, restaurants have had a hard time rebutting such claims.
Further, because servers and bartenders at restaurants usually are
asked to perform somewhat similar duties, restaurateurs usually
have
