BILL NO. 366
(as introduced)
1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
2 Charles III, 2023
Private Member's Bill
Tip and Gratuity Theft Prevention Act
Kendra Coombes
Cape Breton Centre–Whitney Pier
First Reading: October 24, 2023
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Note
This Bill amends the Labour Standards Code to
(a) provide that amounts paid as or in lieu of tips are the property of the employee to whom the amount is directed;
(b) require payment of tips collected in respect to certain events to be paid out to employees within the times provided in the Code for frequency of pay;
(c) prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to share tips with the employer, withhold tips or treat the tips as the wages or partial wages of the employee, including for the purpose of calculation of a minimum wage;
(d) prohibit the deduction of administrative charges from tips owed to an employee;
(e) require employers to advise employees of tip-pooling policies at the time of hire; and
(f) require employers to keep and maintain records of tips received and disbursed to employees and to make those records available to employees.
An Act to Amend Chapter 246
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Labour Standards Code,
to Protect Workers from Tip and Gratuity Theft
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Tip and Gratuity Theft Prevention Act.
2 Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Labour Standards Code, is amended by adding immediately after Section 79A the following Sections:
- 79B (1) Tips and gratuities are the property of the employee to whom or for whom they are given.
(a) withhold tips or gratuities intended for an employee; or
(b) treat tips or gratuities intended for an employee as the wages or partial wages of the employee, including for the purpose of the calculation of a minimum wage under Section 50.
(3) Where the tips and gratuities of an employee are based on the billings of the employee's employer in respect of banquets, bus tours and other events where a tip or gratuity is collected through a bill or invoice, the employer shall pay the tips and gratuities to the employee within the time periods set out in Section 79.
(4) No employer of an employee shall require the employee to share a tip or a gratuity with the employer of the employee.
(5) Where an employer imposes a surcharge or other charge on a customer in lieu of the payment of tips or gratuities to an employee, all of the amounts collected in respect of the surcharge or other charge are the property of the employee for whom they are intended.
(6) Where an employer imposes a surcharge or other charge on a customer in lieu of the payment of tips or gratuities to an employee, the employer shall not
(a) withhold the amounts collected in respect of the surcharge or other charge from the employee; or
(b) treat the amounts collected in respect of the surcharge or other charge as the wages or partial wages of the employee.
(7) Where an employer imposes a surcharge or other charge on a customer in lieu of the payment of tips or gratuities to an employee, the employer shall not require the employee to share any amount collected in respect of the surcharge or other charge with the employer of the employee.
(8) Where an employer imposes a surcharge or other charge on a customer in lieu of the payment of tips or gratuities to an employee, the employer shall distribute all of the amounts collected in respect of the surcharge or other charge to the employee not later than the last day of the next pay period of the employee.
(9) An employer shall not pass on any administrative charges of the employer, including credit card or debit card charges, to an employee.
(10) An employer may adopt the practice of pooling tips and gratuities for the benefit of some or all of the employees, but such practice does not give the employer a proprietary interest in the tips and gratuities so pooled.
(11) An employer shall advise an employee, in writing, of any pooling policy in effect at the time the employee is hired.
79C (1) An employer shall keep and maintain records of tips received and disbursed to employees.
(2) An employer shall make the records referred to in subsection (1) available to employees for inspection at all reasonable times.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2023 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created October 23, 2023. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
