A regulatory change proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor would allow restaurant owners to dictate how tips are divided up.

The way it works now is that the tips go to bartenders and the wait staff, so the workers behind-the-scenes don't get any extra money at the end of the night. Under current federal regulations, the restaurant owners have no say in how tips are divided.

Alessandro Crocco, the manager at La Bocca Restaurant in White Plains, thinks the new regulation is a great idea.

"Bartenders get their own tip and they tip out bus boys and runners and the wait staff does the same thing," says Crocco. "At the end of the night they pool together and share the tip, so the back of the house doesn't have any part of that."

Critics of the change are concerned about giving control of the tip pool to managers. Others worry about a decrease in their income if the tip pool is divided up to include the kitchen staff.

Crocco says his bartenders and wait staff will most likely not be in favor of the change in the beginning, but feels over time they will accept it.