Misty Cumbie worked as a waitress at the Vita Café in Portland, Oregon. The café
ID: 435188 • Letter: M
Question
Misty Cumbie worked as a waitress at the Vita Café in Portland, Oregon. The café was owned and operated by Woody Woo, Inc. Woody Woo paid its servers an hourly wage that was higher than the state’s minimum wage (which was higher than the federal minimum wage), but the servers were required to contribute their tips to a "tip pool." Approximately one-third of the tip-pool funds went to the servers, and the rest was distributed to kitchen staff members, who otherwise are not considered tipped employees. Misty sued the employer and alleged that the tip-pooling arrangement violated the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Does it? Explain.
1. The Fair Labor Standards Act is involved in this case, because the case involved questions about the (minimum wage/ maximum hours)
2. The minimum wage can be changed by (congress/ the department of Labor/ the Fair Labor Standards Board)
3. States (are/ are not) allowed to establish a (higher/ lower) wage than the federal minimum wage.
4. If a state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, an employee must receive ( the state minimum wage/ the federal minimum wage)
Explanation / Answer
1) The FLSA is involved in this case because the case involved questions about the minimum wage.
The details of the case states that Misty sued the employer for violation of minimum wage provisions of FLSA.
2) The minimum wage can be changed by the department of labor.
The FLSA was an act by the department of labor and they can change the number.
3) States are allowed to establish a higher wage than the federal minimum wage.
Some states pay higher minimum wage than the federal standard. They are also allowed to set a lower minimum wage but then that will not be effective.
4) If a state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, and employee must receive the state minimum wage.
This is because as per the rules, the highest among the state’s minimum wage, federal minimum wage and local law wage must be paid.