Valet Driver's FLSA Tip Claim Fails

In a welcome decision for employers, the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (having jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) recently ruled that a tipped employee for whom no federal Fair Labor Standards Act " tip credit" had been taken, and to whom all FLSA wages due had been paid, could not sue her employer under that law for allegedly converting some of her tips to the employer's own uses.

The plaintiff in Malivuk v. Ameripark, LLC worked as a valet driver and received tips from customers.  Her employer apparently paid her at an hourly rate of not less than the FLSA minimum wage and thus did not rely on any portion of her tips to meet that requirement.  She did not claim to have received less than either the FLSA's minimum wage or the required FLSA overtime compensation.