by Jim Reidy
A New Hampshire law set to take effect September 3 makes clear that employees who receive tips may pool their tips and share them with coworkers who don’t receive tips. For example, restaurant servers will be free to share tips with hosts and hostesses.
Even though Senate Bill 37, which was signed by Governor Chris Sununu on July 5, allows tip sharing, employers won’t be allowed to require employees to participate in a tip-sharing arrangement, just as employers may not require employees who receive tips to share tips with each other now. Employees must participate in tip-sharing arrangements voluntarily and “without coercion.”
In addition to the tip-sharing bill, the New Hampshire General Court this summer passed another law affecting wages. House Bill 194 allows employers to pay employees on a biweekly basis without written approval from the New Hampshire Department of Labor. That new law took effect July 11.
For more information on the New Hampshire wage bills, see the August issue of New Hampshire Employment Law Letter.
Jim Reidy is a partner at Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green PA in Manchester and an editor of New Hampshire Employment Law Letter. He can be reached at jreidy@sheehan.com.