CALIFORNIA STRENGTHENS RULE PROTECTING WORKER TIPS
California Governor Gavin Newsom July 30 signed a law authorizing the State Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action against any employer found guilty of withholding or taking their workers’ tips. Up until now, employees were only able to pursue lengthy civil court actions to recuperate stolen gratuities even though the California Labor Code declared “[e]very gratuity” to be the “sole property” of the worker who received the tip. The state labor commission’s new enforcement power over tip theft will hopefully deter employers from violating the law and help workers avoid lengthy and draining litigation.
