The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) introduced the 80/20 rule in 1988, which stated that an employee was no longer a "tipped employee" when they spent more than 20% of their time in a workweek performing side work. After litigation and court opinions in the subsequent years, the DOL began dismantling the 80/20 rule in 2018. The DOL issued a rule in December 2020 which would have done away with the 80/20 rule. However, the DOL withdrew this rule prior to its effective date and, in June 2021, issued a proposal to strengthen the 80/20 rule. The final rule has been published.
