HOSPITALITY ALERT: The Confusing Area of Tip Pooling
Restaurant servers across the country often share gratuities with one another and with other service workers in their restaurant. Some restaurants have specific policies requiring servers to "tip out" colleagues. Others leave it up to servers to decide whether and how they choose to divide their tips. Some states, including Massachusetts and California, have specific laws dealing with this issue. Other states are only subject to the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA").