PRINTER'S NO. 945
No. 845 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY CONTI, MARCH 12, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, MARCH 12, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of January 17, 1968 (P.L.11, No.5), entitled
2 "An act establishing a fixed minimum wage and overtime rates
3 for employes, with certain exceptions; providing for minimum
4 rates for learners and apprentices; creating a Minimum Wage
5 Advisory Board and defining its powers and duties; conferring
6 powers and imposing duties upon the Department of Labor and
7 Industry; imposing duties on employers; and providing
8 penalties," further providing for definitions.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. Section 3(d) of the act of January 17, 1968
12 (P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act of 1968, amended
13 December 15, 1988 (P.L.1232, No.150), is amended to read:
14 Section 3. Definitions.--As used in this act:
15 * * *
16 (d) "Wages" mean compensation due to any employe by reason
17 of his employment, payable in legal tender of the United States
18 or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face
19 value, subject to such deductions, charges or allowances as may
20 be permitted by regulations of the secretary under section 9.
1 "Wage" paid to any employe includes the reasonable cost, as
2 determined by the secretary, to the employer for furnishing such
3 employe with board, lodging, or other facilities, if such board,
4 lodging, or other facilities are customarily furnished by such
5 employer to his employes: Provided, That the cost of board,
6 lodging, or other facilities shall not be included as a part of
7 the wage paid to any employe to the extent it is excluded
8 therefrom under the terms of a bona fide collective-bargaining
9 agreement applicable to the particular employe: Provided,
10 further, That the secretary is authorized to determine the fair
11 value of such board, lodging, or other facilities for defined
12 classes of employes and in defined areas, based on average cost
13 to the employer or to groups of employers similarly situated, or
14 average value to groups of employes, or other appropriate
15 measures of fair value. Such evaluations, where applicable and
16 pertinent, shall be used in lieu of actual measure of cost in
17 determining the wage paid to any employe.
18 In determining the hourly wage [of] an employer is required
19 to pay a tipped employe, the amount paid such employe by his
20 employer shall be [deemed to be increased on account of tips by]
21 an amount [determined by the employer, but not by an amount in
22 excess of forty-five percent of the applicable minimum wage rate
23 upon the effective date of this amendment: Provided, That the
24 amount of the increase] equal to: (i) the cash wage paid the
25 employe which, for the purposes of the determination, shall be
26 not less than the cash wage required to be paid the employe on
27 the date immediately prior to the effective date of this
28 subparagraph; and (ii) an additional amount on account of the
29 tips received by the employe, which is equal to the difference
30 between the wage specified in subparagraph (i) and the wage in
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1 effect under section 4 of this act. The additional amount on
2 account of tips [determined by the employer] may not exceed the
3 value of tips actually received by the employe. The previous
4 sentence shall not apply with respect to any tipped employe
5 unless:
6 (1) Such employe has been informed by the employer of the
7 provisions of this subsection;
8 (2) All tips received by such employe have been retained by
9 the employe and shall not be surrendered to the employer to be
10 used as wages to satisfy the requirement to pay the current
11 hourly minimum rate in effect; where the gratuity is added to
12 the charge made by the establishment, either by the management,
13 or by the customer, the gratuity shall become the property of
14 the employe; except that this subsection shall not be construed
15 to prohibit the pooling of tips among employes who customarily
16 and regularly receive tips.
17 * * *
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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