Ducharme v. Crescent City Déjà vu, LLC, et al, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 18-4484, June 5, 2019  

Issue: Whether the Department of Labor’s regulation regarding notice due to tipped workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act is valid.  

Summary: NELP submitted this amicus letter in support of the Department of Labor’s 2011 rule requiring employers to explain their use of the tip credit to affected employees. The regulation provides important protections to tipped workers and helps ensure they are paid a fair wage.

Tipped workers are more likely than other workers to report hourly wages (including tips) below the minimum wages. Few employers keep the detailed records of tips required by law and many misappropriate a portion of their workers’ tips. NELP argued that the DOL had not taken conflicting positions in its previous litigation positions and its promulgation of the regulation and that the regulation was not arbitrary and capricious and within the scope of the FLSA. The case settled soon after the amicus letter was filed.