Tipped employees
(j) Tipped employees. In paying wages to a tipped employee as defined in section 3(t) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 203(t), the contractor may take a partial credit against the wage payment obligation (tip credit) to the extent permitted under section 3(a) of Executive Order 13658. In order to take such a tip credit, the employee must receive an amount of tips at least equal to the amount of the credit taken; where the tipped employee does not receive sufficient tips to equal the amount of the tip credit the contractor must increase the cash wage paid for the workweek so that the amount of cash wage paid and the tips received by the employee equal the applicable minimum wage under Executive Order 13658. To utilize this proviso: (1) The employer must inform the tipped employee in advance of the use of the tip credit; (2) The employer must inform the tipped employee of the amount of cash wage that will be paid and the additional amount by which the employee's wages will be considered increased on account of the tip credit; (3) The employees must be allowed to retain all tips (individually or through a pooling arrangement and regardless of whether the employer elects to take a credit for tips received); and (4) The employer must be able to show by records that the tipped employee receives at least the applicable Executive Order minimum wage through the combination of direct wages and tip credit.