DECEMBER 2017 • FOGHORN 33 NEWSWIRE HSC CODE ANNEX 10 ISO 9001:2008 Proud supplier of the New York Citywide Ferry Project O n D e c e m b e r 5 , t h e U . S . Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the tip regulations under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Under the proposed rule, workplaces (unless otherwise required by a State law) could require that tipped employees participating in a “tip pool” share tips with “back of the house” employees – but only if the tipped employees are guaran- teed an hourly wage equal or greater than the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour).  According to the Labor Department, the proposal could decrease wage disparities between tipped and non-tipped workers. The FLSA generally requires a covered employer to pay employees at least a federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. However, an employer of tipped employees can satisfy its federal legal obliga- tion by paying tipped employees a lower direct cash wage and counting a limited amount of the tips received as a partial credit (known as a “tip credit”) to satisfy the difference between the direct cash wage paid and the federal minimum wage. Pooling of tips is permitted, but only among employees who customarily receive tips (for example, wait staff, bartenders, etc.), not “back of the house” employees. Under the Labor Department’s proposal, current regulations would remain the same if an employer is taking advantage of the tip credit by paying less than $7.25 per hour. However, if an employer pays at least $7.25 per hour to tipped employees, it would be lawful for the employer to require that a portion of the tip pool be paid to “back of the house” employees who do not traditionally receive direct tips (such as cooks and dish washers). Caution: in many states the regula- tion of tips, tip credits, and tip pooling is superseded by state laws. Reliance solely on the federal law may inad- vertently cause a vessel owner to run afoul of a state law which does not Labor Department Proposes Rule for Employers, Paying Tipped Employees More than Federal Minimum Wage to Pay Back-of-the-House Workers out of “Tip Pools” allow the federal tip treatment, and may even find mere federal compliance to be unlawful. The effect of the proposed rule would give many employers, par- ticularly those in states with higher minimum wages than the federal re- quirement, the option of establishing a tip pool that includes “back of the house” employees. The issue of pooling tips is contro- versial, and the new proposal is certain to engender considerable reaction, pro and con. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2017. The public comment period will be open until January 4, 2018. n TheU.S.CoastGuardisconductingaWaterwaysAnalysisandManagement System (WAMS) study to review the short-range Aids to Navigation (ATON) system that covers American waterways in California, Oregon, Washington State, Alaska, and Hawaii. There is an opportunity for public comment from PVA vessel operators and mariners. Interested individuals can provide input by taking the survey at: https:// www.surveymonkey.com/r/PacSeacoastWAMS. The survey consists of 29 questions that can be answered in less than five minutes. It will be available until March 31, 2018. The study is part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Future Navigation initiative, a multi-year effort to analyze, optimize, and modernize the navigation systems that safely guide millions of mariners and trillions of dollars worth of trade into U.S. ports. It could contribute to the replacement of certain physical ATONs such as buoys by electronic systems “This WAMS study will help us to tailor our Aids to Navigation levels of service to better meet the needs of mariners across the Pacific Seacoast System,” said Cmdr. Justin Kimura, the chief of the Navigation Technology and Risk Management Division in the Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems. n Coast Guard Seeks Public Input about Aids to Navigation in Pacific Coast States