The Fifth Circuit has had tipping on its mind, as the decision of Steele v. Leasing Enterprises, Ltd., represents its second opinion within ten months addressing this pay practice. On the heels of Montano v. Montrose, the Steele decision tackles the question of whether an employer violates 29 U.S.C §203(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it offsets tip credits to recover costs related to processing credit card transactions – essentially passing on some of those costs to the tipped employee. (No. 15-20139), 2016 WL 3268996, (5th Cir. June 14, 2016).
Fifth Circuit Tips Its Hand as to Analysis of FLSA’s Tip Credit
By Charles J. Stiegler & Nicole Eichberger on
Restaurants throughout the Fifth Circuit, and even beyond, should review the recent decision of Montano v. Montrose Restaurant, which discusses the often tricky and always fact-intensive question of whether a restaurant employee is properly included in a tip pool.