Tipped Wage Laws in Florida

Discuss Your Case with Our Wage & Hour Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that all employees must be paid the highest minimum wage afforded by federal, state, or local law. In Florida, the minimum wage (as of September 30, 2022) is $11.00, meaning all employees—including those who make tips—must be paid at least this amount per hour worked. However, tipped employees are also subject to a “tip credit.” Essentially, the tip credit allows employers to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage as long as the employees make up the difference in tips.

At USA Employment Lawyers, we assist tipped employees throughout the state of Florida with all types of wage and hour issues. If your employer failed to pay you the minimum required wage or used the tip credit to unlawfully reduce your pay, our firm can help you understand your options and take legal action. We also assist businesses in defending claims.

Understanding the Florida Tip Credit

As previously mentioned, the tip credit allows employers to pay tipped employees—such as restaurant servers, bartenders, and hotel workers—an amount that is less than the state’s minimum wage. The reasoning behind this is that the employee is expected to make up the difference in tips. In Florida, employers are granted a tip credit of $3.02 per hour, allowing them to pay tipped employees a wage of at least $7.98 per hour.

What you need to know about Florida’s tipped employee wage laws:

• If a tipped employee does not make up the difference between the lower wage ($7.98/hour) and the state minimum wage ($11.00/hour) in tips, the employer is responsible for making up the difference.
• The tip credit only applies to hours that the employee spends working for tips. If a bartender spends six hours of an eight-hour shift mixing drinks and receiving tips and two hours of that shift cleaning, the employer may only claim the tip credit for those six hours.
• An employer may require “tip pooling,” in which all tipped employees contribute a percentage or portion of their tips to a total pool that is then divided amongst all employees. If an employee is obligated to pool his or her tips, he or she must still receive the full minimum wage.
• An employee cannot be required to distribute his or her tips to other employees that do not normally make tips. This includes cooks, dishwashers, employers, and in some cases, managers and/or supervisors.
• “Service charges,” previously known as “mandatory tips,” are no longer considered “tips” in the state of Florida. Instead, these charges must be added to an employee’s paycheck and included as taxable income.

The laws regarding tipped wages and the rights of tipped employees in Florida can be very complex. Arguably the most important thing for both employees and employers to remember is that tipped employees must receive at least the Florida state minimum wage of $11.00 per hour, whether it is paid by the employer or the difference made up in tips by the employee.

In order for a tipped employee to be paid less than the Full Minimum Wage of $11.00 per hour in the State of Florida the employer must notify the employee of all of the following:

1. the specific cash wage the employee will receive;
2. the additional amount on account of tips on which the credit is claimed;
3. that the additional amount may not exceed the tips actually received;
4. that the employer cannot take the tip credit unless the employee has been informed of this information;
5. that all tips received by the employee must be retained by that employee, except valid tip pooling.

Florida Tipped Wages:

2017: $5.08

2018: $5.23

2019: $5.44

2020: $5.54

January 1, 2021, through September 29, 2021: $5.65

September 30, 2021, through September 29, 2022: $6.98

September 30, 2022 through the Present: $7.98

How Our Fort Lauderdale Wage & Hour Attorneys Can Help

If you need assistance with a tipped wages issue, reach out to USA Employment Lawyers for a free case evaluation. Our knowledgeable and experienced Fort Lauderdale attorneys can help you work to protect your rights.