In 2018, Congress added a provision to the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibiting employers from retaining employee tips or allowing managers or supervisors to participate in a tip pooling arrangement. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a new final regulation in which the DOL asserts authority to penalize employers up to $1,100 per violation of this provision, on top of any back wages owed. Prior rules published by the Trump administration also provided for civil penalties, but only in cases of “repeated and willful” violations. The new rule allows the DOL to pursue penalties even for a first offense…

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