U.S. Appeals Court Wipes Away Amendments to Dual Jobs Regulation

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2021 Final Rule amending the “Dual Jobs” regulation, agreeing with the Restaurant Law Center (RLC) that the Final Rule is arbitrary and capricious because it draws a line for application of the tip credit based on impermissible considerations and contrary to the statutory scheme enacted by Congress. This means that the amendment to the Dual Jobs regulation is now unenforceable. The Court noted in its decision that this case holds no bearing “on the validity of the dual-jobs regulation,” which was not at question. What does this ruling mean for restaurants that have already been fined by DOL or are currently under investigation? Per the RLC: Restaurants in current litigation can now use this decision in their defense, but those who have already voluntarily settled or finalized their cases probably cannot. Impacted operators should contact your attorney(s) to see what options, if any, you may have. SCRLA will continue to investigate this point as well and will provide another update when available.