Labor & Employment

SB 245, titled "Tip pooling," authorizes restaurants and hospitality businesses to group customer tips for distribution among eligible staff under specific, defined circumstances. The bill directly affects tipped workers (like servers and bartenders) and their employers by establishing clear rules for how tips can be shared. It passed the House unanimously (44-1) on January 22, 2026, and now moves to the next legislative stage, with no further details provided on the exact conditions for pooling.

Requires the state to make contributions after December 31, 2026, that match, dollar for dollar, each state employee's deferred compensation contributions, not to exceed $28 per paycheck. Specifies limitations on state contributions, including the availability of biennial appropriations. Allows in certain circumstances the budget agency to suspend contributions, resume contributions, and make contributions that were missed due to suspension. Specifies a process by which portions of the funding sources for the retirement medical benefits account must be transferred to the state comptroller for the purpose of making matching contributions. Provides as a default rule that after December 31, 2026, each participant's membership in the retirement medical benefits account is terminated, participant subaccounts are forfeited, and subaccount amounts must be transferred to the state general fund. Specifies exceptions. Requires the state comptroller to transfer certain amounts from the state general fund to each participant's defined contribution plan. Specifies a time frame within which a participant in the retirement medical benefits account may elect to remain a participant. Establishes the 2027 retiree health benefit trust. Provides that the retiree health benefit trust fund will be terminated when certain conditions are met. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the interim study committee on pension management oversight.)

Amends the economic development for a growing economy (EDGE) tax credit to: (1) authorize the Indiana economic development corporation (IEDC) to increase the value of an EDGE credit to a company for new job creation based on the amount of expenses of the company to relocate an individual to Indiana to fill the position; and (2) explicitly permit the IEDC to provide EDGE credits to a company that is retaining an employee through a minimum of a 25% increase in hourly wages paid to the individual. Clarifies provisions that apply to IEDC certification of a fund as a qualified Indiana investment fund.