Potentially significant changes are on tap for the tip credit rules in a number of jurisdictions around the country. Pennsylvania has already adopted a significant change that will quadruple the tip income requirement necessary for an employer to use the tip credit. Currently, the Pennsylvania minimum wage law requires employers paying the tipped minimum ($2.83 per hour) to ensure that those employees are earning at least $30 per month in tips. By a unanimous vote last week, the five-member Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved a proposal submitted by Governor Tom Wolf to quadruple that threshold to $135 per month, adjusting for inflation going back to 1977! The new rule, which will become effective in a few months, also adopts the federal definition for determining tipped employee status – they must spend at least 80% of their time on tipped work. In Rhode Island, the legislature is entertaining two different legislative proposals, each of which will significantly increase the current tipped wage. House Bill 7348 would raise the tipped wage to $6.95 in 2023 and make it equal to the regular state minimum by 2028, when the Rhode Island minimum wage will be $15/hour. House Bill 7765 goes even further – it would eliminate the tip credit overnight and put the state on a path of establishing a $19/hour minimum wage for ALL employees by 2025. And finally, in the Nation’s Capital, there is still a question as to whether Initiative 82 will be on the June primary ballot for the district. To reach the ballot, the measure needs verified signatures representing 5% of voters in five of the district’s eight wards. That requirement has been met in four wards, but the Board of Elections has yet to certify that the threshold was met in a fifth. To finalize the question, the Board is reviewing all signatures collected in Ward 6 to ultimately determine the fate of Initiative 82. Stay tuned. . .