A new rule proposed by the Trump administration could give restaurants more control over worker’s tips.
People we spoke with in the Tampa Bay area say if it's passed, many in hospitality will be looking for other jobs.
If you’ve ever been to Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill in St. Pete, you’ve likely seen Trish Snyder.
“I’ve raised my kids on tip money from here. I’ve been at Ferg's for 24 years.”
That’s why she’s upset about the proposed rule announced by the Department of Labor making tip-pooling legal. If approved, it would allow employers to pool tips earned by front-of-the-house staff and share them with untipped employees, like cooks and dishwashers.
The rule also gives employers the option to keep the tips for themselves or their business.
“I completely trust my management, but there’s plenty of other people out there who can’t say the same. Everyone knows that’s going to happen. A manager can take $50 every single day, make a lot more money, and you would never even know it was missing.” said Bianca Lowry.
Lowry has been a server for 12 years and says the money she makes pays for her school.
“If this rule was initiated tomorrow, I would be looking for a new job tomorrow.”
Under current federal rules, tip sharing with kitchen staff must be voluntary and gratuities belong to the workers. It’s a custom dating back to the 1974 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
While Snyder is OK with tipping out bar backs and hostesses, she says she can’t afford to split all her earnings with both the front and the back of the house.
“I have people who come to see me. They tip me well so that money can go to me and my family, not to share with other people,” Snyder said.
Ferg’s owner Mark Ferguson says if the proposed rule goes through, he’d never enforce it.
“I’m dead set against it,” he said.
Labor Department officials say some restaurants are pushing for the rule change to close the wage gap between servers and cooks.
People we spoke with say restaurants who want to pay cooks more should consider giving them a raise instead of taking money out of server’s pockets.
“If we raise our cooks' salaries we have to raise our consumer pricing," Ferguson said. "We try to be competitive with other restaurants and that’s how we keep everything fair for everyone."
Snyder says the proposed rule is anything but fair, and hopes it doesn’t get past the proposal stage.
“You would have to do something for people like me who’ve been in this business for a long time who rely on that money. You would have to do something to either compensate them or you’re going to lose all of your good staff," she said.
The public has until Feb. 5 to comment on this proposed Labor Department rule.
