Employers in Pennsylvania must conform with these state rules regarding the treatment of tips received by employees.
In Pennsylvania, a tipped employee's hourly wage is a combination of the cash wages paid by the employer and an additional amount based on tips equal to the difference between the cash wage paid by the employer and the current minimum wage in effect.
The minimum wage for tipped employees in Pennsylvania is $2.83 per hour. The additional amount based on tips cannot exceed the value of tips actually received by the employee.
This practice must be explained to the employees and the employees keep their own tips or pool them among themselves.