Scott, Ellison, Takano, and Bonamici Hold Forum on Administration’s Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
Agenda
WASHINGTON – THURSDAY, February 15th, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce along with Democratic leadership, will host a forum on the Labor Department’s proposal to allow employers to pocket their employees’ tips. Members are invited to hear from and question experts and advocates on the potential impact of the rule and the issues with the DOL’s rulemaking process.
WHO:
Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), Congressional Progressive Caucus Labor Liaison
Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Vice Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist and Director of Policy, Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
Thea Bryan, Restaurant Worker, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC)
Raj Nayak, Deputy Director, National Employment Law Project (NELP)
Amit Narang, Regulatory Policy Advocate, Public Citizen
Imar Hutchins, Owner, Florida Avenue Grill
Other members to be announced
WHAT: Member forum exploring the policy and process behind the Labor Department’s tip rule.
BACKGROUND: On December 5, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that could allow employers to pocket employees’ tips – as long as the employer pays the worker a cash wage of at least $7.25 per hour. The Economic Policy Institute estimates this rule could allow employers to pocket $5.8 billion of their employees' tips each year.
When the DOL initially proposed the rule, it stated it had not conducted any quantitative analysis. However, four days before comments for the rule was due, Bloomberg reported that senior political officials in the DOL allegedly withheld economic analyses that indicated that workers would lose billions of dollars under the rule. Ranking Member Scott joined Representatives Ellison, Takano, and Bonamici demanded the Department share allegedly withheld estimates. The DOL Inspector General has subsequently launched an investigation into DOL’s rulemaking process for this regulation.