Court of Appeal Issues Decision on Tip Pools

In Lu v. Hawaiian Gardens Casino, the Second District Court of Appeal on January 22, 2009, held: (1) Labor Code section 351 does not prohibit tip pooling in casinos; and (2) Although sections 351 and 450 contain no private right of action, they do serve as predicates for actions under the Unfair Competition Law. Not surprisingly, the Court confirmed that casinos and their "agents" -- that is, “every person other than the employer having the authority to hire or discharge any employee or supervise, direct, or control the acts of employees" -- may not take any part of a gratuity given to an employee by a patron.