My restaurant holds our card tips until payday, and sometimes pays them late. Is that allowed?
The short answer
Example
Say your workweek runs Monday to Sunday and payday for that week is the following Friday (illustrative).
| What happened | Latest the federal rule allows |
|---|---|
| Card tips from Tuesday night | That Friday payday |
| The card company hasn’t paid the restaurant yet | Still that Friday. DOL says tips can’t be held while waiting. |
| Your employer collects tips for the tip pool | Fully paid out by that Friday payday |
| Tip pool amounts truly can’t be worked out before payroll runs | As soon as practicable after that payday |
| Your wage plus tips came up short of $7.25 an hour that week | Made up by that Friday payday |
Not tax or legal advice. The dates are made up. For pooled tips and a minimum-wage shortfall, if your pay period covers more than one week, the payday that counts is the one for the period in which that workweek ends.
Plain English
Card tips: no later than the regular payday
DOL’s tipped-employee fact sheet says: under federal law, the amount due the employee must be paid no later than the regular payday, and may not be held while the employer is waiting for reimbursement from the credit card company.
The same section lets an employer take out the card company’s actual fee on the tip, and nothing more. See Can my employer take the credit card fee out of my tips?
Pooled tips: fully paid out by payday
When your employer collects tips to run a tip pool, federal rules say it has to fully pay out those tips by the regular payday for the workweek. If the pay period covers more than one workweek, it’s the regular payday for the period in which that workweek ends. If the employer truly can’t figure out the amounts or the split before payroll, the tips have to be paid out as soon as practicable after the regular payday.
Holding tips can become keeping tips
Federal law says an employer can’t keep any part of your tips, for any purpose, whether or not it takes a tip credit. The regulation says an employer that collects and redistributes pooled tips isn’t “keeping” them if it pays them out fully and on time. For tips that never arrive, see What can I do if my employer keeps part of our tips?
Your state may have stricter rules
DOL notes that some states have more protective rules for tips charged to cards. DOL keeps a list of state labor offices.
Where to ask
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division takes calls at 1-866-487-9243. See How to file a complaint.
Common mistakes
- Accepting “we haven’t been paid by the card company yet” as a reason to wait past payday.
- Not checking that each week’s card tips show up on the paycheck for that week.
- Mixing up the card-fee rule (a small deduction is allowed) with the timing rule (no late payment).
Official sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA (credit cards; distributing tips from tip pools)dol.gov
- 29 CFR 531.54(b)(2), full and prompt distribution of tipsecfr.gov
- 29 CFR 531.52(b), employers may not keep tipsecfr.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Officesdol.gov
Last verified:
Checked DOL Fact Sheet #15 and 29 CFR 531.52 and 531.54 on eCFR (current through September 21, 2026).