Will This Restaurant Tipping Lawsuit Go All The Way To The Supreme Court?

Tipping is one of the biggest issues the restaurant industry, and in a case brought forward by the newly formed Restaurant Law Center, complainants are asking the Supreme Court to hear a case looking to overturn a regulation that bans wait staff from pooling tips with kitchen staff, New York Post reported.

The Labor Department regulation passed in 2011 and ensured that only the person who directly received the tip (usually the waiter or waitress) could pocket it. This means that kitchen staff never see extra money even though they are usually paid the same minimum wage. Before this regulation took effect, many restaurants used to pool the tips at the end of the shift to ensure that everyone got their fair share. After all, the kitchen staff do half the work.

The organization is asking the court to re-examine the position of the Labor Department and to rule on the fairness of this regulation.