Tipped Employee Protection Act
Introduced Mar 24, 2025 by Rep. Steve Womack
It's waiting on a committee vote to reach the full chamber. Most bills never leave this stage.
This bill modifies the definition of a tipped employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to exclude consideration of an employee's duties when determining if the employee is a tipped employee.
Under current law, tipped employees may be paid less than the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour), but the total of their cash wage and tips must be at least equal to the federal minimum wage. Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is currently a worker who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips.
The bill broadens the definition of tipped employee to include any worker who receives tips and other cash wages for a work period at a rate that is at least the federal minimum wage, without regard to the duties of the employee. Under the bill, the work period is a work period that is determined by the employer.
Summary by the Congressional Research Service.