46 Democrats Urge Administration to Extend New Tip-Pooling Regulations Comment Period
WASHINGTON – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), vice ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and 42 other Democrats sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta to request a 30-day extension to the public comment period on a rule that would let employers pocket or redistribute the tips of workers who are paid the federal minimum wage.
“The Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) rescinds parts of the Department’s 2011 Tip Regulations that clarify tips are the property of an employee, regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit against its obligation to pay the minimum wage or pays the tipped worker the full minimum wage,” the Members wrote. “This proposed rule reverses the Department’s position of more than 40 years and would, according to estimates in the NPRM, impact nearly 1.3 million tipped workers.”
Members are asking the Department of Labor to extend the current 30-day comment period to comply with the requirement for a 60-day comment period contained in several executive orders governing rulemaking. The extension would allow the public to submit comments until February 3, 2018, instead of January 4, 2018. This extra time is especially important given that the DOL has failed to include a quantitative analysis of the proposed rule—also mandated by executive order. An additional 30 days would allow stakeholders to conduct and review a quantitative analysis and provide meaningful input on the impact of the proposed rule.
The text of the letter is enclosed below:
Dear Secretary Acosta:
As Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, we write to respectfully request that the Department of Labor extend the public comment period for the above-referenced proposed rule by a minimum of 30 days to allow for a complete economic analysis of its impact.
The Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) rescinds parts of the Department’s 2011 Tip Regulations that clarify tips are the property of an employee, regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit against its obligation to pay the minimum wage or pays the tipped worker the full minimum wage. This proposed rule reverses the Department’s position of more than 40 years and would, according to estimates in the NPRM, impact nearly 1.3 million tipped workers.
Under section 2(b) of Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, the Department must “afford the public a meaningful opportunity to comment . . . with a comment period that should generally be at least 60 days.” Instead, the Department has provided for only a 30-day comment period, to end January 4, 2018. Additionally, the Department’s departure from its long-standing policy and the potential impact on more than a million workers requires a robust economic analysis. However, the NPRM fails to include any quantitative analysis of the NPRM’s benefits or costs, as expressly required under Section 1(c) of Executive Order 13563.
To comply with comment period requirements and given the absence of a quantitative analysis, the Department should extend the comment period for not less than 30 days, or at least until February 3, 2018, to allow stakeholders to conduct and review a quantitative analysis and provide meaningful input on the impact of the proposed rule.
Please provide us with your decision regarding our request no later than Friday, December 15, 2017.
Press Contact
Arika Trim, 202-226-0853 (Scott)
Hamid Bendaas, 202- 450-0491 (Ellison)
Josh Weisz, 202- 225-2305 (Takano)
Maggie Rousseau, 202-225-0855 (Bonamici)
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