# 119-hr-5112: Tipped Worker Protection Act

119-hr-5112, Tipped Worker Protection Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-22).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5112
- As of: 2026-08-22
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5112
- Congress: 119
- Title: Tipped Worker Protection Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 13
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-22

## Summary

**Eliminate the separate tipped minimum wage and tip credit system.** This bill would make the regular minimum wage the baseline for tipped employees and create a multi-year transition to higher cash wages while overhauling how tips and service charges are handled. - Workers: Tipped employees would see a staged cash-wage path starting at $3.60 per hour in year one and increasing by $1.50 each year until it reaches the full minimum wage. Employers would no longer be allowed to rely on tip credits or keep tips. - Employers and customers: Mandatory service charges would have to be disclosed and the portion paid to employees identified and paid promptly. Employers may not use tips to cover transaction or card-processing fees and must administer tip pools at their own expense. - Tip governance and tax rules: Tip pools require a worker vote to establish and protections prevent retaliation for participating. Penalties are expanded to cover unlawful use of tips and certain service charges would be treated as tips for Social Security tax purposes.

## Cosponsors (13)

- Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] (D-NC), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2025-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39] (D-CA), 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Phase out sub-minimum wage for tipped workers: benefit, high. This bill would phase out the lower cash wage for tipped workers. For the first year after enactment, employers would have to pay at least $3.60 per hour in cash. Each year after, that cash wage would rise by $1.50, but never above the regular federal minimum wage in effect at the start of that yea…
- Stronger rights for workers to keep tips: benefit, medium. This bill would give workers a clear right to keep their tips. Employers, managers, and supervisors would be barred from keeping any part of tips or using tips to pay card or other fees. If an employer adds a mandatory service charge, they would have to tell customers and staff why and what share g…
- Payroll tax credit for service charges: benefit, medium. The part of a mandatory service charge that an employer promises to pay to workers would count as tips for the existing employer payroll tax credit. This could lower Social Security payroll taxes for many hospitality businesses. It would apply to amounts received on or after the law’s enactment.
- New voting and rules for tip pools: mixed, low. Tip pools would be set up only after a vote: at least 30% of non‑supervisory staff ask for it and 51% approve. Employers would have to keep written vote records, run the pool at their own cost, keep funds separate, and let workers see records. The bill would define who counts as non‑supervisory for…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5112 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5112)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5112 (as of 2026-08-22).