New Labor Department rule would let employers distribute tips more widely. Dec. 22, 2020, 6:42 p.m. ETDec. 22, 2020, 6:42 p.m. ET A new rule would allow so-called tip pools —the sharing of tips with back-of-house workers.Credit...Sarah Blesener for The New York Times The Labor Department on Tuesday released the final version of a rule that would allow employers to share workers’ tips with co-workers who don’t normally receive tips. Under the so-called tip pools authorized by the new rule, the tips of waiters and waitresses can be shared with back-of-the-house workers like cooks and dishwashers. But such sharing will be allowed only if the waiters and waitresses receive the standard minimum wage in their city or state, not the lower minimum wage that most states allow employers to pay tipped workers.