Tipped Wage and Tip Credit: FLSA §3(m), Dual Jobs, and State Cash Floors

The federal tip credit lets you pay as little as $2.13 an hour in cash — but only if tips make up the rest of the minimum wage, and only if you follow every notice and pooling rule first.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act tip-credit provision — 29 USC §203(m)(2)(A) — a covered employer may count a portion of a tipped employee's tips toward the federal $7.25 minimum wage. The cash floor has been $2.13 per hour since the 1996 FLSA amendments; the maximum federal tip credit is $5.12 per hour ($7.25 − $2.13). If tips plus cash wages fall short of the full minimum in any workweek, the employer must make up the difference.

That is a wage-and-hour rule, not a tax rule. The federal income-tax deduction for qualified tips (IRC §224, "no tax on tips") does not change the cash wage you owe, FICA on tips, or the tip-credit conditions under §203(m). Those tax rules live in the sibling research on no tax on tips and overtime.

Seven states ban the tip credit outright — Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington — so employers there pay the full state minimum wage in cash before tips. Everywhere else, state cash floors and tip-credit caps sit on top of the federal floor. The U.S. Department of Labor publishes a consolidated table of those rates (current as of July 1, 2026).

The dual-jobs / "side work" fight also settled in late 2024. The Fifth Circuit vacated the DOL's 2021 80/20/30 Final Rule in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, 120 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. 2024) (superseding 115 F.4th 396). DOL then restored the pre-2021 dual-jobs regulation text at 29 CFR §531.56(e). As of mid-2026, federal enforcement follows that restored dual-jobs framework — not a 20% / 30-minute side-work stopwatch.

Skip to the state-by-state table →

Which sections matter for you

Do you pay servers, bartenders, or other tipped staff a reduced cash wage? Start with quick reference and the federal tip-credit conditions.
Do you track side work (rolling silverware, stocking, cleaning) against an 80/20 percentage? Read what happened to the 80/20/30 rule — the 2021 Final Rule is vacated and removed from the CFR.
Do you operate in Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, or Washington? Tip credit is prohibited. Start with California deep-dive and your row in the state-by-state table.
Do you run a tip pool that includes cooks, dishwashers, or managers? Read tip pooling under the FLSA — traditional vs. nontraditional pools turn on whether you take a tip credit.
Do you have workers in more than one state? Cash floors and tip-credit bans follow the work location. See multi-state and remote workers.
Is someone asking about "no tax on tips"? That is a Form 1040 deduction, not a payroll cash-wage rule. See tax deduction ≠ tip credit.

Quick reference

Federal floor (FLSA)

Tipped employee: occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips — 29 USC §203(t).
Minimum cash wage: $2.13/hour when a tip credit is taken (29 USC §203(m)(2)(A); 29 CFR §531.50).
Maximum federal tip credit: $5.12/hour ($7.25 − $2.13).
Make-up obligation: cash wage + tips actually received must equal at least the full minimum wage each workweek; employer pays any shortfall (DOL Fact Sheet #15).
Notice: five required tip-credit disclosures before the credit applies; oral or written is fine, but missing notice forfeits the credit for the period of noncompliance.
Managers / supervisors: may not keep employee tips for any purpose, whether or not a tip credit is taken — 29 USC §203(m)(2)(B) (2018 FLSA amendments via the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018).
Dual jobs (current federal posture): pre-2021 dual-jobs text restored at 29 CFR §531.56(e); 80/20/30 Final Rule vacated (Restaurant Law Center; DOL technical restoration Dec. 2024).

States that prohibit a tip credit (full cash minimum wage before tips)

Alaska · California · Minnesota · Montana · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

(Source: DOL WHD Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees, revised July 1, 2026.)

Anchor authorities

Statute: 29 USC §203(m), §203(t)
Regulations: 29 CFR Part 531 Subpart D
Agency: DOL Fact Sheet #15; DOL tip-regulations page
Case: Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, 120 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. 2024)
Related research: No tax on tips and overtime (income-tax deduction, not wage floor)

The 6 most expensive tip-credit mistakes

1. Taking a tip credit without the required notice

No notice, no tip credit. Before you claim the credit, Fact Sheet #15 requires you to tell the employee:

The cash wage you will pay (at least $2.13).
The additional amount claimed as tip credit (at most $5.12 federally).
That the tip credit cannot exceed tips actually received.
That all tips belong to the employee except for a valid tip pool limited to customarily tipped occupations (when a tip credit is taken).
That the tip credit does not apply unless the employee has been informed of these provisions.

Oral notice counts under federal law. Missing any element forfeits the credit for the noncompliant period — you retroactively owe the full minimum wage on those hours, not just the cash shortfall.

2. Ignoring the weekly make-up when tips are light

A slow Tuesday does not change the rule. If cash wage + tips for the workweek do not reach the full minimum wage (federal or higher state rate), you write a check for the difference on the regular payday. "They usually make it up over the month" is not a defense.

3. Still running payroll as if the 80/20/30 Final Rule were law

From December 2021 until the Fifth Circuit vacated it, the 2021 Dual Jobs Rule limited tip credit for "directly supporting" side work above 20% of the workweek or 30 continuous minutes. That Final Rule is vacated and the CFR text was restored to the dual-jobs formulation in December 2024 (DOL tip-regulations history).

What remains is the dual-jobs concept: a hotel maintenance worker who also serves tables is in two occupations — tip credit only for the server hours. A server who rolls silverware and sets tables as part of the same tipped occupation is not automatically converted into a dual-job employee solely because of related side work. Some plaintiffs outside the Fifth Circuit still cite older 80/20 case law (see circuit residual risk); federal agency posture as of mid-2026 follows the restored dual-jobs regulation.

4. Putting cooks, dishwashers, or managers in a tip pool while taking a tip credit

Traditional pool (tip credit taken): only employees in occupations that customarily and regularly receive tips — servers, bartenders, bussers, counter personnel who serve customers, service bartenders. Cooks, dishwashers, and janitors stay out.

Nontraditional pool (no tip credit): if every participant is paid at least the full cash minimum wage and you take no tip credit, you may include back-of-house staff such as cooks and dishwashers (Fact Sheet #15; 2018 CAA amendments to §203(m)).

Never: managers, supervisors, or the employer keeping tips from the pool — §203(m)(2)(B).

A single invalid participant can blow the entire tip-credit claim for the period.

5. Using the tip credit in a no-tip-credit state

In Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, the cash wage equals the full state minimum wage. Tips are on top of, not instead of, that wage. Paying California servers $2.13 because "federal allows it" is an immediate underpayment of the state minimum.

6. Calculating overtime on the $2.13 cash rate

When you take a tip credit, overtime premium is computed from the full minimum wage (or the higher regular rate if greater), not from $2.13. You may not claim a larger tip credit on an overtime hour than on a straight-time hour (Fact Sheet #15; 29 CFR §531.60). Getting this wrong underpays every overtime hour for every tipped employee.

The federal tip-credit floor

What §203(m) actually allows

Section 3(m)(2)(A) of the FLSA sets the employer cash wage for a tipped employee at not less than the cash wage required on August 20, 1996 — $2.13 — plus an additional amount from tips equal to the difference between that cash wage and the section 6(a)(1) minimum wage (currently $7.25). Codified implementing language is at 29 CFR §531.50 and §531.59.

Only tips actually received count. Service charges and automatic gratuities are not tips under 29 CFR §531.55; amounts distributed from service charges are wages that may satisfy minimum-wage obligations but do not expand the tip credit.

Definition of tipped employee

29 USC §203(t): a tipped employee is "any employee engaged in an occupation in which he customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips." The $30 figure is a statutory threshold for the occupation, not a weekly average you invent for convenience. Some states use different tip-receipt thresholds (see table footnotes).

Notice, records, and make-up

Employers taking a tip credit must keep the tip-related records in 29 CFR §516.28 (and the broader Part 516 framework): who is tip-credited, tips reported, tip-credit amount claimed, and hours in tipped vs. non-tipped occupations when dual jobs apply.

Credit-card tips: federal law allows the employer to deduct the card company's percentage fee from the tip before paying the employee, but the deduction cannot push the employee below the full minimum wage for the week, and some states (notably California) ban the fee deduction entirely (CA DIR Tips FAQ; Labor Code §351).

Tax deduction is not a tip credit

IRC §224 (qualified tips) and the 2026 W-2 Box 12 code TP / Box 14b TTOC regime change income tax on the employee's Form 1040. They do not:

raise or lower the $2.13 federal cash floor;
authorize a tip credit in a state that bans one;
remove FICA on tip income; or
replace the §203(m) notice, make-up, or pooling conditions.

Treat the wage rule and the tax rule as separate systems. Full treatment of the deduction is in no tax on tips and overtime.

What happened to the 80/20/30 rule

The 2021 Final Rule

On October 29, 2021, DOL published the Dual Jobs Final Rule (86 Fed. Reg. 60114), effective December 28, 2021. It amended 29 CFR §531.56 to define three duty categories (tip-producing, directly supporting, and not part of the tipped occupation) and barred the tip credit for directly supporting work above 20% of the workweek or 30 continuous minutes. That is the "80/20/30" rule employers spent 2022–2024 staffing against.

Fifth Circuit vacatur

In Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 23-50562 (5th Cir. Aug. 23, 2024), superseded on rehearing at 120 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. Oct. 29, 2024), the Fifth Circuit held the Final Rule unlawful on two independent APA grounds:

Contrary to the FLSA's text — §203(t) defines a tipped employee by occupation and customarily receiving more than $30/month in tips, not by minute-by-minute duty slicing inside that occupation.
Arbitrary and capricious — the 20% / 30-minute line-drawing regime rested on considerations Congress did not enact.

The court vacated the Final Rule (APA default remedy), reversing summary judgment for DOL. Vacatur undoes the rule as a regulation; DOL does not enforce the 80/20/30 Final Rule.

DOL posture as of mid-2026

DOL's own tip-regulations page records the sequence:

Fifth Circuit vacatur (reported as 115 F.4th 396, superseded 120 F.4th 163).
December 16–17, 2024 technical final rule restoring the original dual-jobs regulation language at 29 CFR §531.56(e) (Federal Register document 2024-29798).

Fact Sheet #15 now describes dual jobs with the classic maintenance-worker-vs-server contrast and related side duties (cleaning and setting tables, toasting bread, making coffee, occasionally washing dishes) that remain part of the tipped occupation. It does not restate the 20% / 30-minute caps.

Circuit residual risk outside the Fifth Circuit

Before the 2021 rule, some circuits had deferred to DOL's older Field Operations Handbook 80/20 guidance:

Eighth Circuit: Fast v. Applebee's International, Inc., 638 F.3d 872 (8th Cir. 2011) — deferred to FOH 80/20 under then-governing deference doctrine.
Ninth Circuit (en banc): Marsh v. J. Alexander's LLC, 905 F.3d 610 (9th Cir. 2018) — similar deference to sub-regulatory 80/20 guidance under Auer.

Those opinions predate both the vacatur of the 2021 Final Rule and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024), which ended Chevron deference. Plaintiff counsel may still cite Fast and Marsh outside the Fifth Circuit. The cleaner federal description for mid-2026 is: the 2021 Final Rule is vacated nationwide; DOL restored dual-jobs text; older FOH-based case law is residual litigation risk, not current agency regulation. State labor agencies may still use their own side-work percentages (New Jersey is one example of a state 80/20-style rule independent of the vacated federal Final Rule).

California — no tip credit and full cash minimum

California is the national model for "one fair wage" hospitality pay.

No tip credit. Tips cannot reduce the employer's cash minimum-wage obligation (Labor Code §351; DIR Tips FAQ).
Full state cash minimum: $16.90/hour as of January 1, 2026 for general employers (DIR minimum wage). Fast-food and certain healthcare facilities have higher industry floors.
Tips are employee property. Employers and their agents may not take or share tips; credit-card processing fees may not be deducted from tips under §351 (stricter than federal law).
Tip pools among employees who provide service are generally permitted under California case law and DLSE practice, but managers/agents stay out.

Things employers consistently miss

Importing a federal $2.13 cash wage into a California POS or payroll system "because the W-2 still works that way."
Deducting credit-card fees from tips after federal counsel said it was fine.
Treating automatic banquet service charges as tip-credit inputs (they are wages for overtime regular-rate purposes and are not tips for §203(m)).
Assuming IRC §224 reporting changes California cash-wage rules — it does not.

Tip pooling under the FLSA

Setup	Who may share tips	Cash wage
Traditional pool	Only customarily tipped occupations (servers, bartenders, bussers, etc.)	Tip credit allowed if all §203(m) conditions met
Nontraditional pool	May include non-tipped occupations (cooks, dishwashers)	Full cash minimum wage; no tip credit
Either pool	Managers / supervisors / employer may not keep tips	—

Additional federal rules (Fact Sheet #15):

No statutory percentage cap on a valid pool contribution.
Tips collected by the employer for redistribution must go out by the regular payday for the workweek (or as soon as practicable if amounts are not known at payroll cut).
A manager may keep only tips received directly from customers for service the manager solely provided — not pool shares from other employees' tables.

State-by-state table

Rates below are the DOL Wage and Hour Division compilation as of July 1, 2026 (Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees). Local ordinances can be higher. Always confirm with the state labor department before payroll changes.

Jurisdiction	Combined min. wage	Max tip credit	Min. cash wage	Tip credit allowed?	Notes
Federal (FLSA)	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	Tips > $30/mo occupation test
Alaska	—	—	$14.00	No	Full cash MW
California	—	—	$16.90	No	Full cash MW; higher industry rates may apply
Minnesota	—	—	$11.41	No	Full cash MW
Montana	—	—	$10.85 / $4.00	No	$10.85 if gross sales > $110k; lower small-employer cash floor
Nevada	—	—	$12.00	No	Full cash MW
Oregon	—	—	$15.55 / $16.80 / $14.55	No	Standard / Portland metro / nonurban
Washington	—	—	$17.13	No	Full cash MW
Alabama	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	No state MW law for most private employers
Arizona	$15.15	$3.00	$12.15	Yes
Arkansas	$11.00	$8.37	$2.63	Yes
Colorado	$15.16	$3.02	$12.14	Yes	Tips > $30/mo
Connecticut	$16.94	see notes	see notes	Yes	Hotel/restaurant cash $6.38 (credit $10.56); bartenders cash $8.23 (credit $8.71)
Delaware	$15.00	$12.77	$2.23	Yes
District of Columbia	$18.40	$8.10	$10.30	Yes	Cash wage 56% of full MW (post–Initiative 82 adjustments)
Florida	$14.00	$3.02	$10.98	Yes	$15.00 full MW scheduled 9/30/2026
Georgia	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	State MW does not cover tipped employees; FLSA floor
Hawaii	$16.00	$1.25	$14.75	Conditional	Tip credit only if employer + tips ≥ MW + $7.00
Idaho	$7.25	$3.90	$3.35	Yes
Illinois	$15.00	$6.00	$9.00	Yes	40% of applicable MW as tip credit
Indiana	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes
Iowa	$7.25	$2.90	$4.35	Yes	40% of MW as tip credit
Kansas	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	State law excludes FLSA-covered employment
Kentucky	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes
Louisiana	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	No state MW law
Maine	$15.10	$7.55	$7.55	Yes	50% of MW; tips > $191/mo
Maryland	$15.00	$11.37	$3.63	Yes
Massachusetts	$15.00	$8.25	$6.75	Yes	Tips > $20/mo
Michigan	$13.73	$8.24	$5.49	Yes	Cash wage phasing up toward 50% of MW by 2031
Mississippi	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	No state MW law
Missouri	$15.00	$7.50	$7.50	Yes	50% of MW
Nebraska	$15.00	$12.87	$2.13	Yes	Large tip credit against high state MW
New Hampshire	$7.25	$3.98	$3.27	Yes
New Jersey	$15.92	$9.87	$6.05	Yes	Separate smaller-employer / seasonal rate may apply
New Mexico	$12.00	$9.00	$3.00	Yes
New York	$17.00 / $16.00	varies	varies	Yes	Regional; hospitality food-service vs. service rates differ
North Carolina	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	Signed tip certification required
North Dakota	$7.25	$2.39	$4.86	Yes	33% of MW as tip credit
Ohio	$11.00	$5.50	$5.50	Yes	Employers with receipts ≥ $405,000; smaller employers $7.25
Oklahoma	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	Small-employer and FLSA-exclusion nuances
Pennsylvania	$7.25	$4.42	$2.83	Yes	Tips ≥ $135/mo
Rhode Island	$16.00	$12.11	$3.89	Yes
South Carolina	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	No state MW law
South Dakota	$11.85	$5.92	$5.93	Yes	50% of MW; tips > $35/mo
Tennessee	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	No state MW law
Texas	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	State law excludes FLSA-covered employment
Utah	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	State law excludes FLSA-covered employment
Vermont	$14.42	$7.21	$7.21	Yes	50% of MW; tips > $120/mo
Virginia	$12.77	$10.64	$2.13	Yes
West Virginia	$8.75	$6.13	$2.62	Yes	70% tip credit; coverage thresholds apply
Wisconsin	$7.25	$4.92	$2.33	Yes	Opportunity-employee cash wage may be $2.13
Wyoming	$7.25	$5.12	$2.13	Yes	State MW $5.15; FLSA-covered employees get federal floor

New York detail (as of 1/1/2026, NY DOL): food-service tipped workers — NYC / Long Island / Westchester cash $11.35 (tip credit $5.65) against $17.00; remainder of state cash $10.70 (tip credit $5.30) against $16.00. Service (non-food) tipped rates use higher cash wages and smaller tip credits (NY DOL minimum wage).

Operational mechanism — what to track every pay period

Tip-credit compliance is a records and location problem more than a legal theory problem.

Work location → which cash floor and whether tip credit is legal.
Occupation → tipped vs. non-tipped dual-job hours when one person holds two jobs.
Hours → straight time and overtime; overtime rate cannot be based on $2.13 alone.
Cash wages paid → at or above the jurisdiction's cash floor.
Tips actually received (including pool shares) → weekly total for the make-up test.
Notice evidence → hire packet or signed acknowledgment covering the five federal elements (and any stricter state notice).
Pool roster → only eligible occupations for the pool type you run; no managers.

When any of those seven fields is missing, you cannot prove the tip credit. Time records by day and occupation, tip reports, and pool distribution logs are the audit trail.

Industry-specific notes

Full-service restaurants and bars

Highest volume of tip-credit litigation. Dual-job risk is real when a "server" spends a full shift on prep or closing unrelated to the tipped occupation. Pool design (front-of-house only vs. full-house after paying full cash MW) is a business choice with different wage floors.

Hotels and resorts

Classic dual-job fact patterns (maintenance + banquet service; front desk + room service). Banquet service charges are usually wages, not tips.

Salons and personal care

Often mixed employee / booth-renter models. Tip credit only applies to employees. Independent contractors are outside §203(m) but still have tax-reporting duties under the tip-deduction regime.

Quick service / counter service

Whether counter staff "customarily and regularly" receive tips is fact-specific. If they do not clear the §203(t) occupation test, there is no tip credit to take.

Multi-state and remote workers

Work location controls the cash floor. A Texas-based restaurant group with a California location pays California servers the full California cash minimum at that location even if corporate payroll is in Texas.

Scenario 1 — Single-state tip-credit restaurant (Texas). Cash wage at least $2.13; tip credit up to $5.12; weekly make-up to $7.25; traditional pool only if taking the credit; five-point notice on hire.

Scenario 2 — California location of a multi-state brand. Cash wage at least $16.90 (or higher industry rate); no tip credit; no credit-card fee deduction from tips; tips remain employee property under §351.

Scenario 3 — Server splits a week between Nevada (no tip credit) and Arizona (tip credit allowed). Apply each day's cash floor to hours worked in that state. Do not average the cash wage across the week. Overtime allocation should follow your multi-state overtime method, but the tip-credit eligibility is state-by-state.

Recent changes (last 18 months)

When	What
Aug. 23, 2024	Fifth Circuit opinion vacating DOL 80/20/30 Final Rule — Restaurant Law Center, No. 23-50562.
Oct. 29, 2024	Superseding opinion reported at 120 F.4th 163 (5th Cir.).
Dec. 16–17, 2024	DOL technical final rule restores pre-2021 dual-jobs text at 29 CFR §531.56(e).
2025–2026	Multiple state cash floors and full minimum wages rose (see DOL July 1, 2026 table). Florida continues statutory climb toward $15.00 (9/30/2026). Michigan continues cash-wage phase-up toward 50% of state MW by 2031.
Jan. 1, 2026	California general minimum wage $16.90; NY regional hospitality tip rates reset; several other states indexed higher.
July 1, 2026	DOL WHD republished the national tipped-wage table used in this research.

No federal legislation in this window raised the $2.13 cash floor or the $7.25 general minimum wage.

FAQ

Can I pay tipped employees only in tips with no cash wage?

No. If you take a tip credit, federal law still requires a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour. Paying "tips only" is an FLSA violation.

Do I still need to track side-work minutes after the 80/20 vacatur?

You do not need the 2021 Final Rule's 20% / 30-minute stopwatch for federal compliance. You still need to distinguish dual occupations (tip credit only for the tipped job) from related duties inside one tipped occupation. State agencies may impose their own side-work limits.

Can managers keep tips if they also wait tables?

A manager may keep tips a customer gave directly for service the manager solely performed. Managers and supervisors may not take a share of other employees' tips or pool proceeds (§203(m)(2)(B)).

Does "no tax on tips" mean I can reduce the cash wage?

No. The federal income-tax deduction does not change wage-hour cash floors. See no tax on tips and overtime.

What if my state cash floor is higher than $2.13 but still allows a tip credit?

Pay at least the state cash floor. The tip credit is the difference between that cash wage and the higher of the federal or state full minimum wage, subject to state-specific caps (for example, Illinois's 40% tip-credit limit).

Are automatic gratuities tips?

Usually no. Compulsory service charges are not tips under federal regulations. They can count toward the employer's wage obligation as wages, and they belong in the regular rate for overtime.

If you discover you've been doing this wrong

Stop the bad practice on the next shift. Raise cash wages to the correct floor; pull ineligible people out of the tip pool; issue missing notices.
Reconstruct the lookback. Federal FLSA recovery is generally 2 years, 3 if willful (29 USC §255(a)). State lookbacks may be longer.
Compute back wages. For lost tip-credit periods, the exposure is typically the full minimum wage (or state cash floor) minus what was actually paid in cash — plus unpaid overtime premiums computed on the correct rate — for each affected workweek.
Document the correction. Keep the recalculation worksheets, tip reports, and corrected notices with payroll records.
Fix the system, not only the check. Update POS job codes, pool rules, multi-state rate tables, and hire packets so the same failure does not recur next quarter.

What to remember

The tip credit is a narrow privilege, not a default payroll setting. It survives only when the cash floor, weekly make-up, five-point notice, and pool composition all hold — and only in jurisdictions that allow it.

Common failure modes:

No tip-credit notice on hire.
Weekly tip shortfall with no make-up check.
Back-of-house or managers in a tip-credit pool.
$2.13 cash wages in a no-tip-credit state.
Overtime calculated on the cash rate instead of the full minimum.
Side-work stopwatch policies that no longer match the vacated Final Rule — or dual-job blindness when one person truly holds two occupations.

Practical close: set the cash wage from the work location's table, prove the weekly make-up, keep tip and pool records with the time punches, and treat the tax deduction for tips as a separate Form 1040 problem — not a reason to change the cash wage.

Sources

Federal statutes and regulations

29 USC §203 — definitions; §203(m) tip credit; §203(t) tipped employee
29 USC §206 — minimum wage
29 USC §207 — overtime
29 USC §216, §255 — remedies and limitations
29 CFR Part 531 Subpart D — tipped employees
29 CFR §531.50, §531.52, §531.54, §531.55, §531.56, §531.59, §531.60
29 CFR §516.28 — tip recordkeeping

DOL guidance and tables

Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA
Tip Regulations under the FLSA (includes 2020–2024 rulemaking history and vacatur note)
Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees by State (July 1, 2026)

Cases

Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 23-50562 (5th Cir. Aug. 23, 2024); 120 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. Oct. 29, 2024)
Fast v. Applebee's International, Inc., 638 F.3d 872 (8th Cir. 2011)
Marsh v. J. Alexander's LLC, 905 F.3d 610 (9th Cir. 2018) (en banc)
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024)

State primary sources (selected)

California Labor Code §351; DIR Tips FAQ; DIR minimum wage
New York DOL minimum wage
Missouri DOL minimum wage
Illinois IDOL minimum wage
New Jersey DOL tipped workers

No tax on tips and overtime — IRC §§224/225 deductions, W-2 codes TP/TT, state tax conformity (not cash-wage floors)