Who can be in my tip pool in Pennsylvania?
PennsylvaniaVerified September 23, 2026
The short answer
It depends on your cash wage. If anyone in the pool is paid a tip-credited wage (under $7.25 an hour), Pennsylvania limits the pool to jobs that customarily and regularly get tips. If everyone gets at least the state minimum, the pool can include non-tipped staff too. Managers, supervisors, and employers can’t receive from any pool. Card tips are yours, and processing fees can’t be taken out.
The rule in Pennsylvania
| Card tips | Tips paid by credit card or another non-cash method belong to the employee who receives them. |
|---|---|
| Processing fees | Employers can’t deduct credit card or other payment processing fees from tips. |
| Pool with tip-credited staff | Only people in occupations that customarily and regularly receive tips. |
| Pool when all get the minimum | Can include both tipped and non-tipped employees. |
| Managers and owners | Can’t receive from a pool, but may contribute tips they earned themselves. |
“Tip pools including any employee who is paid a tip credited minimum wage (less than $7.25 per hour) may only include individuals in occupations who customarily and regularly receive tips.” (Pennsylvania DLI: overtime and tipped worker rules)
What’s different in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s pool rules track the federal two-track setup closely: a tip-credited wage keeps the pool to tipped jobs, and a full minimum opens it to the kitchen. The minimum is still $7.25 here, but your tipped cash wage is $2.83, not the federal $2.13, so the house pays a little more per hour before tips.
Two state details matter at the end of a shift. First, the Department of Labor & Industry says card fees can’t be skimmed from your tips, so a card tip should reach you in full. Second, a manager who waits on a table may drop that tip into the pool, but can never pull money back out of it.
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.