Unlike most states, Minnesota has a law that, with limited exceptions, prohibits employers from requiring their employees to participate in a “tip pool,” or otherwise share gratuities with their bosses or co-workers. Specifically, Section 177.24, subd. 3 of the Minnesota Statutes, which is part of the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act 9MFLSA), states that “any gratuity received by an employee…is the sole property of the employee,” and that “[n]o employer may require an employee to contribute or share a gratuity received by the employee with the employer or other employees or to contribute any or all of the gratuity to a find or pool operated for the benefit of the employer or employees.”
A Closer Look
When a well-known restaurant chain violated the tip pooling law, MSB Employment Justice, along with the New York based law firm Reese LLP, took the restaurant to court in a class action lawsuit, where they represented servers seeking to recover the tips that had been unlawfully diverted from them for years. The Court appointed MSB and Reese LLP as Class Counsel and granted their motion for class certification. Ultimately, in October 2024, after three years of hard-fought litigation, the Court granted final approval to a class action settlement that provided compensation to these deserving employees. In its Order, the Court noted that the MSB Employment Justice attorneys who prosecuted the case are “experienced and skilled attorneys” who took on the case despite the fact that it “involved challenging legal and factual issues that could have caused the case to fail at several points of the litigation,” and who, despite those challenges, were able to achieve “settlement terms [that] provide significant monetary benefits to the Class.”
Final Thoughts
MSB Employment Justice attorneys are well-versed in the MFLSA, and all employment laws, and stand ready to defend the rights of all employees in Minnesota and nationwide. Contact MSB Employment Justice today to speak with our legal team.
