In late 2018, the Department of Labor significantly revised its interpretation of the FLSA. Under its current interpretation, the DOL believes the FLSA places little limitation on the amount of related, untipped labor (such as sidework) a tipped employee may perform while still being paid the tip credit minimum wage. In March 2019, P.F. Chang’s argued to the Court that this case should be dismissed because of this new interpretation. On August 15, 2019, Judge Anita Brody rejected PF Chang’s argument, confirming that the DOL’s new interpretation does not impact the minimum wage claims we have asserted and permitting the case to proceed into discovery. Judge Brody agreed with Plaintiffs that, despite the new DOL interpretation, the FLSA demands that a tipped employee who spends more than 20% of their time in a workweek performing untipped labor related to their tipped occupation, such as sidework, must be paid the full minimum wage.
You can read more on the courts decision here.
