An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding Tips Used in Payment of Service Employees
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §663, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2007, c. 367, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §664, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2007, c. 367, §2, is further amended to read:
The tips received by a service employee become the property of the employee and may not be shared with the employer. Service employees may volunteer to pool their tips to be split among other service employees or may volunteer to share a part of their tips with other employees who do not generally receive tips directly from customers. Tips that are automatically included in the customer's bill or that are charged to a credit card must be given to the service employee. A tip that is charged to a credit card must be paid by the employer to the employee by the next regular payday and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from a credit card company.
summary
This bill changes the laws regarding the tip credit for employers as used in the payment of service employees by eliminating the provision that specifies that tips received by a service employee are the property of the employee and may not be shared with the employer. It eliminates the provision that makes tip splitting voluntary and also eliminates the provision that tips automatically included in a customer's bill or charged to a customer's credit card must be given to the service employee. It also eliminates the provision that directs the employer to pay the service employee by the next regular payday for tips charged to a credit card.