IDEA ZONE at the #LRAEXPO14: Do you know what you don’t know?

To be successful in the restaurant business, you have to know a lot about a lot of things. From one moment to the next you transition from human resources professional to purchasing guru, chef to manager, bookkeeper to plumber, and then on to a myriad of your other unofficial job titles in role as owner, manager and/or chef. Running a restaurant requires that you be a “jack of all trades,” but hopefully a master of some.

The IDEA ZONE, back for its third year at the Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO, August 2-4, 2014 at the Morial Convention Center, is a series of complimentary, expert express presentations designed to deliver pertinent, relevant and timely need-to-know information for restaurateurs.

Saturday’s IDEA ZONE series begins at 11:45 a.m. with So…you want to grow your restaurant brand/concept? What is really involved in taking a restaurant brand/concept from one or a handful of locations to be ready to expand regionally and nationally at a rapid pace and still maintain consistency, quality and profitability? Together, LSU alumni Brent Bueche and Scot Byrd of BBI Architects in Baton Rouge will teach you the basics of a successful restaurant brand/concept, how to analyze regional markets and growth patterns, understand how design reinforces the brand and improves the customer experience, and restaurant prototype standards and scalability.

Following at 12:45 p.m., David Kusher of Kushner LaGraize LLC hosts Top tax benefits that exist for restaurant owners that most restaurant owners don’t know about and miss every year. There’s not a person on the planet who wants to pay more in taxes and right now, that could very well be you.

If you’ve ever seen an episode of Jon Taffer’s Bar Rescue, you’ve seen the worst of the worst in terms of lost profits behind the bar. At 1:45 p.m., John Carter of Bevintel, the world’s number one on-premise liquor inventory control system, brings you Promoting profits and preventing loss behind the bar. Carter will give you valuable tips on preventing loss and adding five or more points to your bottom line through inventory control and promoting profits in restaurants and bars. Your time at this session could be money in your wallet.

Up next at 2:45 p.m. is Online marketing recipe book for success, by Fishbowl’s Joe Gabriel. In today’s ever-changing landscape, restaurateurs now have to add another title to their resume: “Online Marketer.” Gabriel will go over the five easy steps to be successful in building an online presence, managing it and engaging your guests to drive sales.

Michelle Anderson,
Fisher & Phillips, LLP

And finally, a topic that we get calls about from members all the time—What can I really charge employees? LRA General Labor Counsel Michelle Anderson of Fisher & Phillips will share the legal perimeters regarding deductions for uniforms, breakages, misorders and tools of the trade. Restaurateurs, you’ll also get the run down on the tip credit, services charges and how to avoid wage and hour litigation. 

The IDEA ZONE is located at the end of Aisle 100, conveniently located next to the Community Coffee trolley and features seating and high boy tables in the back for your convenience. Of course, we don’t expect you to spend your day listening to presentations, but hopefully, you’ll find one or two that can help you become an even more successful (and legally compliant) restaurant owner.

To attend sessions in the IDEA ZONE, you need to register to attend the EXPO. LRA restaurant members receive four complimentary admissions to the EXPO and registration is easier than ever before here. 

Thank you to this year’s Platinum Sponsors!

Heartland Payment Systems, Louisiana Cookin’, Capital One, Republic National Distributing Company, UnitedHealthcare, Glazer’s of Louisiana, Louisiana Restaurant Association Self Insurer’s Fund and the LRA Education Foundation.

Gold Sponsor—Midlands, Generations Hall & Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses; and Silver Sponsors—Fisher & Phillips, LLP and Johnson, Johnson, Barrios & Yacoubian.

Tip Tip Hooray?

By Michelle Anderson, Attorney, Fisher & Phillips, LLP (New Orleans)

The following article generally discusses tipped employee rules that an employer may adopt for employees. The article is not intended as legal or tax advice, and any specific question regarding a particular policy or rule for your workplace should be addressed with legal counsel to ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws.

The simple act of tipping has become a hot bed of legal concern for the restaurant and hospitality industries.  As the Department of Labor’s enforcement efforts continue to grow and private wage and hour lawsuits increase, these industries are prime targets for tipped employee violations.  To further complicate matters, effective January 2014, the IRS implemented new guidelines for tips and service charges. While customer generosity should be encouraged, businesses in these industries need to ensure compliance with applicable laws.

The Ground Rules:

All non-exempt employees must be paid the minimum wage under federal and state law. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), tipped employees are those who regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. The tip credit provisions of the FLSA permit an employer to pay tipped employees no less than $2.13 per hour in cash wages and take a “tip credit” equal to the difference between the cash wages paid and the federal minimum wage. The tip credit may not exceed the amount of tips actually received and, under the current minimum wage, may not exceed $5.12 per hour. For example, under federal law, an employer can pay a tipped employee $2.13 per hour and take a “tip credit” of $5.12 per hour, provided the tipped employee makes sufficient tips to cover the tip credit. If the employee does not earn sufficient tips for the tip credit, the employer must make up the difference to ensure the employee receives minimum wage for all hours worked. Employers must keep clear records to demonstrate proper application of the tip credit. 

The use of tip credit can also be complicated by state laws. Some states forbid the use of tip credit, while others impose significant record-keeping and/or notice requirements on the use of tip credit. Louisiana currently follows the federal law, which requires that employees be notified in advance if the employer will take a tip credit. Written notice is recommended.

Some employers might be tempted to not require employees to report tips under $30 per month, or  report tips beyond what brings them up to the amount of the tip credit taken.  Both of these practices are flawed and could create tax liability. 

The definition of a tipped employee for purposes of IRS reporting differs from the FLSA.  The IRS defines a tipped employee as one who earns $20 or more per month in tips.  Employees are required to report to their employer the total amount of tips they receive. Employees must provide the employer with written reports by the tenth of the following month. Employees who receive tips of less than $20 in a calendar month are not required to report their tips to their employer, but must report these amounts as income on their tax returns and pay necessary taxes.

Therefore, even if an employee is not deemed a “tipped employee” under the FLSA, per the IRS the individual may still be considered a “tipped employee” for purposes of reporting the income generated by tips.  Hence, the best practice is to simply require employees to report all tips.