Hi!

While the minimum wage is currently $8, is this different if it's a restaurant category like an ice cream shop?

Extremely seasonal, the business may have part time employees that work 20 hours a week with one of the days being 10 hours and 2 other days at 5 hours per day. Would the business be required to pay 2 hours of OT in this scenario?

How would the answers be effected by the fact that this is a food/restaurant category?

Thanks!

For overtime purposes, it makes no difference because Massachusetts does not have daily overtime requirement at all.

Are you also asking if this employer can pay less than minimum wage for hours worked?

Hi!

Yes, because (while there's a tip jar) employees sometimes get handed tips directly. So, would the minimum wage requirements change in this situation?

Thanks!

By "seasonal", do you mean they're only open for business less than seven months in a year? Or do you mean their level of business is seasonal, so the employee headcount/hours decrease dramatically during the winter?

See here for "directly tipped" employees. All other things being equal, if the employees don't regularly receive tips of at least $30/month, they can't be considered directly tipped and the tip credit cannot be used.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.pdf

Hi!

The employees are seasonal workers. How would it be different if it was the business being open for less than 7 months?

Also, thanks for the "tipped" information!

Hi!

How would it be different if it was the business being open for less than 7 months?

Many seasonal employers (i.e., open only part of the year) are specifically exempted from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The FLSA law has something like 100 formal exceptions to either the normal minimum wage rules, the overtime rules or both. I am including a pointer to the Seasonal Establishment exception. (http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs18.pdf)

...Are you also asking if this employer can pay less than minimum wage for hours worked?


There is a sub-minimum wage under FLSA...

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs32.pdf

There is a sub-minimum wage under FLSA...

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs32.pdf

I agree. However, the exceptions are pretty limited.