Employment: gratuities: enforcement.

Senator Smallwood-Cuevas's gratuity protection legislation expands the Labor Commissioner's authority to investigate and penalize employers who improperly withhold or deduct tips from workers in California. The measure adds explicit enforcement provisions to existing state law that establishes tips as the sole property of employees.

Under the proposed changes, the Labor Commissioner would gain the power to issue citations and pursue civil actions against employers who violate gratuity regulations. The bill maintains current prohibitions on employers collecting or deducting any portion of tips from wages while adding specific requirements around credit card gratuities. When patrons tip via credit card, employers must remit the full amount to employees by the next regular payday without subtracting card processing fees.

The enforcement procedures would mirror those already in place for wage violation cases under Labor Code Section 1197.1, allowing the Labor Commissioner to investigate complaints and take action against non-compliant employers through an established citation and penalty framework. This provides the Department of Industrial Relations with defined mechanisms to address gratuity violations through both administrative and legal channels.