H.R. 2312 — Tipped Employee Protection Act

This section revises the definition of "tipped employee" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by replacing the prior standard—any individual engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips—with a new standard under new subsection (t)(1) that applies, without regard to occupation or duties, to any employee who receives tips and whose tips combined with cash wages required under FLSA section 3(m)(2)(A)(i) equal or exceed the minimum wage under section 6(a)(1) over an employer-determined work period (e.g., 1 day, 1 week, every 2 weeks, every 28 days, or every pay period, per new subsection (t)(2)). (Thus, this change expands eligibility for the FLSA tip credit—under which employers may pay a lower cash wage if tips make up the difference to minimum wage—to employees outside traditional tipped occupations, provided total compensation meets the minimum wage threshold.)