Littler Lightbulb: August Appellate Roundup

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in federal courts of appeal in the last month.

Fifth Circuit Vacates DOL Tip Credit Rule

The FLSA permits employers to take a "tip credit" when paying the wages of "tipped employees," paying these employees $2.13 per hour, below the federal $7.25 per hour minimum wage, based on the presumption that tips make up the difference. In Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, __ F.4th __ (5th Cir. 2024), the Fifth Circuit vacated the U.S. DOL's "80/20/30 Rule," which defined three categories of work:

• directly tip-producing work (e.g., a server "providing table service");
• directly supporting work (e.g., a server "setting and bussing tables"); and