What You Need to Know About Tipped Employee Rights in Illinois
Each state varies in its rules about what tipped employees are entitled to. Here’s everything you need to know about tipped employee rights in Illinois.
Illinois has numerous protections for tipped employees in addition to federal protections. Tip credits, dual jobs, and tip pooling are allowed in Illinois under the employer’s jurisdiction, as long as employers give notification. Compared to other states, Illinois gives employers more flexibility in what they require from their employees, tip-wise.
Tipped Employees in Illinois
When parties earn tips as a part of their wages, their legal rights under Illinois wage and hour laws become more complicated. While federal law covers these issues, employers must follow whichever law–federal, state, or local–is the most generous to employees.
Related: Illinois Right-to-Work Laws
Laws About Tipped Employment
Employers cannot require employees to hand over their tips unless:
– State law allows the employer to take a tip credit, or
– The employee is part of a valid tip pool.
Some states, including Illinois, allow employers to count all or part of an employee’s tips towards their minimum wage obligations. While the employer does not “take” the employee’s tips, the employer can count some tips earned as if the employer had paid them directly to the employee.
In most states, employees may need to pay part of their tips into a tip pool to share with other employees.
Tip Credit in Illinois
Minimum wage laws protect all employees, regardless of whether they are tipped. The current minimum wage in Illinois is $12.00 but is subject to change.
A tip credit allows employers to pay employees less than the minimum wage if the employee earns enough in tips to make the difference. The employer must pay the difference if an employee does not produce enough tips during a given workweek to earn at least the Illinois minimum wage for each hour worked.
Illinois law allows employers to claim a tip credit of 40% of the minimum wage. This allows employers to pay tipped employees a minimum hourly wage of $7.20.
Related: Access to Personnel Files in Illinois
Dual Jobs in Illinois
A dual job is when an employee spends some of their shift doing non-tipped work. Under federal law, if an employee performs related non-tipped duties simultaneously or immediately before or after performing tipped duties, the employer can take a tip credit for the time spent doing non-tipped tasks.
An example of a dual job includes a waitress who spends 75% of her shift waiting tables but the last 25% cleaning and restocking service stations. The employer can claim a tip credit for the waitress’s entire shift in this situation.
Tip Pooling in Illinois
Illinois allows employers to require tip pooling for employees. In a tip pool, all employees subject to the pool must chip in a portion of their tips, which then get divided among the group of employees subject to the tip pool.
Employers must notify employees of the tip pool in advance. Also, employees must be able to keep at least the full minimum wage.
Under federal law, only employers who regularly receive tips can be part of a tip pool if an employer claims a tip credit. Moreover, tips from a tip pool cannot go to the employer, managers, or supervisors.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one would like to learn more about Tipped Employee Rights Illinois, get your free consultation with one of our Employment Attorneys in Illinois today!