Official Summaries

Tipped Employee Protection Act

This bill modifies the definition of a tipped employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to exclude consideration of an employee's duties when determining if the employee is a tipped employee. 

Under current law, tipped employees may be paid less than the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour), but the total of their cash wage and tips must be at least equal to the federal minimum wage. Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is currently a worker who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips.

The bill broadens the definition of tipped employee to include any worker who receives tips and other cash wages for a work period at a rate that is at least the federal minimum wage, without regard to the duties of the employee. Under the bill, the work period is a work period that is determined by the employer. 

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2312 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 366
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2312

                          [Report No. 119-420]

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise the definition 
        of the term ``tipped employee'', and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 24, 2025

  Mr. Womack introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Education and Workforce

                           December 30, 2025

Additional sponsors: Mr. Baumgartner, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Westerman, Mr. 
                 Grothman, Ms. Letlow, and Mr. Messmer

                           December 30, 2025

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                               24, 2025]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise the definition 
        of the term ``tipped employee'', and for other purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tipped Employee Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. TIPPED EMPLOYEES.

    Section 3(t) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(t)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(t)'' and inserting ``(t)(1)'';
            (2) by striking ``engaged in an occupation in which he 
        customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in 
        tips.'' and inserting ``, without regard to the duties of the 
        employee, who receives tips and other cash wages for a work 
        period described in paragraph (2) at a rate that, when combined 
        with the cash wage required under subsection (m)(2)(A)(i), is 
        not less than the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1).''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) A work period described in this paragraph is a work period 
that is determined by the employer of the employee, such as a work 
period of 1 day, 1 week, every 2 weeks, every 28 days, or every pay 
period.''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 366

119th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2312

                          [Report No. 119-420]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise the definition 
        of the term ``tipped employee'', and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           December 30, 2025

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed