New Tipping Law Takes Effect August 1st in Minnesota

New laws took effect today in Minnesota. One of those that I wrote about previously has to do with flying cars, which is crazy.

READ MORE: MN's New 'Jetsons Law' Takes Effect Aug. 1st

But another law that just took effect has to do with tipping in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

What is Tipping Etiquette?

In the US, there's a lot of tipping that happens in many different industries. The most common one would be tipping your server at a restaurant. But how much should you be tipping?

According to Bankrate, in 2024 the minimum you should tip at a sit-down restaurant should be 18%. From there, you'll increase the amount however much you'd like based on the service they provide.

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New Tipping Law in Minnesota

In Minnesota, this new tipping law doesn't affect those of us paying the tip, but it affects the people receiving the tip.

Every time you use your credit or debit card it costs the company that you're purchasing from money. In the past, if someone received a tip from a credit or debit card, the restaurant could take that 'swipe fee' out of the employee's tip.

I've had plenty of friends who are or have been servers say they always carry cash to make sure they can tip the server with cash directly instead of on their card.

But now, as Ogletree Deakins writes, "Starting August 1, 2024, Minnesota employers must pay workers the full amount of tips paid by credit card, debit card, or electronic payment."

I'm really glad this is a law now because that's just crazy that companies were allowed to take the 'swipe fee' out of an employee's hard-earned tip. I hope that not many places were being scummy like that but now we can guarantee that no one does that to their employees.