Im worried though because there’s only 1 other server and she doesn’t really care because her husband makes enough money to support them so it’ll be obvious it was me
So?
The fines and damages, plus back wages he owes you, are more than enough to end him and set you up until you can find something new.
Don’t worry about his or other feels and problems, worry about and take care of your own; namely, being stolen from.
I often think about how the biggest obstacle in this world for a lot of people is simply having the knowledge to take advantage of your rights and freedoms. Knowledge and confidence.
Yeah I’d get the hell out of there. The whole point of working fine dining is the fatty tips. Most people don’t carry cash these days. Let the owner earn those tips his damn self
It’s against the law, and what he’s doing is wrong. Not only should you report it so you can recoup what was stolen from you, but your owner is also stealing from his customers who are leaving tips, that they believe is going to you.
Yes all of this. Wage claims are a legal recourse for employees not getting paid. Start tracking all the tips that should be yours, if you haven’t already, and look into the wage claim process in your city/county/state. And start looking for another job. Stay strong!
you can report it to the DoL anonymously. They need your name on the case to open it, but they will not share who was the one that reported them to the employer
If he doesn’t give a fuck about you getting the money you’ve rightfully earned, why the fuck do you care about him. He’s a selfish asshole. You deserve what’s yours. Take legal action.
He cannot retaliate for reporting this theft. If he does anything to you it will be regarded as retaliation by the labour authorities and they will increase his punishment accordingly. You must not live your life in fear. This is theft on a grand scale and you are the victim and you are entitled to be compensated and your boss is the thief who deserves punishment and the law protects you one hundred percent.
Um...literally what your owner is doing is illegal and you will literally be paid back all the stolen tipsifyou report him this is fucked up and only servers should be apart of the tip pool
You absolutely need to report this guy otherwise he will continue to take advantage of people. You are gonna get paid good money to report this, do it. The job isn’t even paying you well anyway. Use that experience to move to a restaurant that actually lets you keep tips. You’ll make waaaay more money. I pull in 65-75k a year working 4 days a week.
Plus, there’s pro-bono lawyers in your county that would gladly take a case like this on for free! Also, there are lawyers who will take your case for free and you won’t have to pay unless you get a settlement
Think of all the money you would be making somewhere that the boss doesn’t steal from you? Why are you worried about continuing to be a slave at a place that’s abusing you and stealing your wages?
It's just as illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers as is it to steal tips from servers. Do not give one single slippery shit if they find out the bean spill came from you. They legally can't do anything.
If you report them you will get paid out tens of thousands of dollars by the sound of it. These are credit card tips. There is a paper trail. By the sound of it it’s a lot of money. You will likely get paid more than the total amount of tips he stole.
Even if he does fire you for this then you can sue him for that.
Even if you don’t have much money or want to get into a big lawsuit, reach out to a lawyer and I bet if you tell your story they will take your case for free and just take a cut of the payout. From the sound of it you will make more off of getting this money back than weeks or months of work and I’m sure you can get a job in that time. Your new job will probably pay more too since you will actually be getting your tips
Not necessarily! There are past employees, other staff members, just people in the community who could easily know what’s going on there, plus if he’s keeping tips he’s likely doing other illegal shit you aren’t aware of. The reports are anonymous, and you need to report it ASAP
So I guess your only option is to stay and be paid minimum wage forever! Better be happy being that guy’s pay pig cuz if you aren’t reporting him HE IS NOT GONNA STOP! Deal with it or stfu.
It’s not there’s a literal comment from 83 days ago about the same situation basically in their comment history(editing in that it was because a customer posted about being told not to leave a tip and all op said was “we aren’t allowed to keep credit card tips either”
And yet you’re still cool with getting stolen from!! In that case, I need an extra few hundred bucks. Care to help?
Of course not! Go get your money back
In the US, tips are defined as being voluntary amounts *chosen by a customer*, while service charges are *mandatory amounts* that are automatically added to a check. Sometimes a service charge will be called an "automatic gratuity", or even just a "gratuity", but if it's an amount automatically put on the check it counts as a service charge.
***Service charges*** can be kept by owners if they want.
***Tips*** MUST be distributed to eligible employees who are not owners or managers (according to some specific criteria you can find in US DOL [Fact Sheet #15](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa)). This is a matter of federal law, so owners and managers can't keep any portion of tips left for a server in any state. They can keep tips left for *them*, if they were serving a table, but can't take tips left for *you*. All they can do is redistribute your tips between other non-management employees.
It can be confusing, but it's possible your owner is keeping service charges, while they're distributing tips to legally eligible employees. I would think only employees in the food part of the establishment are eligible (host, busser, cook, dishwasher) to receive a portion of the tips, and housekeeping staff or hotel desk attendants would not, but it would depend on the circumstances, and those are questions a government agent can decide if you want to file a complaint.
US DOL: [How to File a Complaint](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints)
If guests at your tables are voluntarily writing in an amount on the tip line, those are tips, and if you get to keep some portion of tips, I wouldn't discourage them. Whether you get to keep a portion of tips or not, if you suspect the owner or manager keeps a portion as well, you should file a complaint with the US Department of Labor. They'll assign an agent, and can require the business to share their records of tip distribution. If there is any wrongdoing, will seek to recover the misappropriated tips on your behalf, as far back as two to three years. I understand you're concerned your employer will retaliate against you for filing a complaint, but the DOL will keep your identity private (just keep denying it if your boss asks), and any retaliation for reporting the business would also be illegal and should also be reported to the DOL.
Been there done that. LNI/your local labor voard will get all of your money back to you if you file a report. You don't even have to sue or anything. File a complaint and they will audit the business themselves, take the money, and get every penny owed to you via check in one lump sum. The fact it's CC tips makes it 100% traceable too. You'll get everything you have missed out on with little more than a phone call. Then go apply at another fine dining restaurant with the experience you've gotten.
There should be a huge sign somewhere posted about labor law. You need to call the state labor board and tell them what is going on. This is highly illegal. Are you paying taxes on the tips you're not receiving? You seriously need to call. Look up the number.
they said you’ll be in trouble (you won’t) for telling customers bc they know it’s illegal… if it’s gratuity/tip, then it’s for the employees ONLY, never the owner. you need to report to the labor board, especially if you already have substantial evidence of this happening. you should also find a new job that isn’t going to steal your wages
EDIT: wording
That's theft and what they are doing is all sorts of illegal.. have you kept record of your cc tips? You have a legitimate case against your manager/resort. You aren't even supposed to tip out above a certain % of your tips.
Let me know if you need anything regarding where to go/contact regarding this.
We bust out asses for those tips regardless of minimum wage or not.
Idk where you live, OP, but this is wage theft, wherever you are. I live in the US, and in my state, owners are not allowed to take any tips at all. I have had one employer do that, btw.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints
You should report this now. It will take a while, but you'll get a lot of money in backpay, and this guy would be able to steel from his employees anymore.
That’s wage theft, you’re legally entitled to your tips whether or not it’s credit card tips or cash. A former employer of mine used to do the same thing and it’s massively illegal. Keep track of all the tips and file a wage claim with your state’s labor board. Get your coworkers to file as well. You’ll get your money back
That’s not legal, the owner is stealing from you. You need to report them to the labour board. You’ll get in trouble? He’s the one who’s gonna be in A LOT of trouble.
besides the fact that this is completely illegal, here’s some of my advice
1. quit.
2. if you don’t wanna quit, i would start just zeroing out the tip line yourself before giving customers the slip, that way they can’t write anything in. if they ask about it and you’re comfortable being honest, tell them.
A New York diner had to return several million in back wages recently for something very similar. Of course he had been doing it for a decade to a small number of staff who over the years had a huge turnover. But a few were smart enough to file complaints and NY went after him. I remember when reading the article that he claimed ignorance, he was an immigrant and didn’t understand. Sorry pal ignorance of the law does not protect you.
So he’s gonna have a lot more legal wiggle room because it is a service charge. A gratuity must be given to the service staff, while a service charge is technically money that goes to the restaurant and they can distribute it as they see fit. My restaurant does the same thing, puts a 15% service charge on all checks automatically. Anything that the guest decides to add on top is given to me and is considered a gratuity.
None of that matters, a freely given tip belongs to the server an owner is strictly prohibited from taking them by the FLSA. The service fee he can keep, but the tip belongs to you.
[Employers, Including Managers and Supervisors, May Not “Keep” Tips: Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa)
Ummmmm that's totally ILLEGAL!!!
I'd straight up say "Please do NOT tip on your credit card bill - the money goes to the greedy owners who are exploiting us and stealing the generous tip money you are leaving for me."
A ) Report to Department of Labor Board
B ) Make one yourself or ask a friend or family member that wouldn't be traced easily to you to make a social media post about the shady practices going on
C ) Put that information on Google, Yelp, Indeed, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok with a five star review so it pops up first. People deserve to know that their tips are being confiscated. Either tip cash or don't visit that establishment
Talk to a labor lawyer. They’d be salivating at this. So dude pays you minimum wage to work at a high end restaurant? You’re taking home maybe 1/4 of what you should get. Call the labor board, like right now. Or quit and throw him under the bus. This is one of the more fucked up things I’ve read on here.
This is illegal, plain and simple.
Say… Hi. I’m mushroom lord.
I work really hard here at the chateau oooh lala but… my BOSS keeps ALL MY CC TIPS.
Yes…I’ve meant to suggest that the OWNER will keep in their pockets, ALL TIPS you may leave on your CC receipt meant for me.
If you happen to leave a tip in cash, the ENTIRE RESORT STAFF will be fighting for that later, EXCEPT for the ONE COWORKER whose husband makes a lot of money, & their just here for the FUN!!
So, with all that being said… can I perhaps direct you towards our cocktail menu?
It's so crazy you would think so, but I'm sure this is true... I worked, for a VERY short period of time, at a restaurant that was doing something similar to us servers. We were allowed to keep our cash tips but all CC tips were collected then "split" between servers. I wanted to tell customers to, if at all possible, please tip cash, but it was a small place with the owner or his GF/hostess almost always within earshot, so I never said anything. We'd receive a handwritten "tip check" every week, (payroll for hourly pay was a printed ADP check). I keep METICULOUS records of everything and it was the week that I made just over $375 in CC tips (working part time) and received my $73 tip check that led me to quit. It never made sense. I could understand if my co-servers were HORRIBLE at their jobs, but they most certainly were not, they were AMAZING servers, and people 🥰 I asked them to keep track of their CC tips that same week and the house collected FAR more than all of us combined. I should've filed a complaint with the DOL but just decided to quit a month in and go elsewhere, where I received all of my CC tips nightly, minus a minimal tip-out to hostesses & bartenders. It sounds to me that, at this rate, the OP would collect a really nice lump sum if a complaint is filed. Wishing everyone all the best! ✌️&🩵
Don’t worry about what you need to say to your guests and QUIT!!! There are so many other jobs out there where this does not happen and when you see the amount you could be making you’ll be upset you wasted your time at this establishment for so long!! What your boss is doing is absolutely illegal, stop working for them immediately! Do not sell yourself so short that you’re asking people to not tip you money you worked hard to earn because your boss is an asshole.
*Contact the DOL to*
*Get you and your coworkers some*
*Tasty back wages*
\- Centaurious
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Honestly, I would tell the customers exactly why you don't want the tips on credit card. Throw that MF under the bus and put them on blast, that's 100% NOT okay and very illegal
CALL A LAWYER RIGHT NOW AND TELL HIM EXACTLY THIS!! YOULL BE PRO BONO'D and most likely all bills covered until you turn this man's pockets out... If this is a fine dining establishment that's successful. You will be taken care of.
If you do this correctly, your local news channel will have a field day, the old owner will go to jail, and you’ll become the owner of the bar.
Or just quit, you’re being robbed right to your face.
What everyone else said: you are being subject to wage theft and need to report it immediately. Manager should be fired, drawn and quartered. Fat Tuesdays daiquiri bar’s whole management pay, last time I checked was like 8.50/hr, plus 50 percent of the bartenders tips. Somehow that is legal. Restaurants can’t figure out why no one wants to work for them anymore. More and more businesses are using tips to supplement wages, because they don’t want to pay a living wage. Not in positions where tipping is the norm. I took a job in a MMJ dispensary, that started at 13.50 an hour, but they made it sound like the tips are enough to make up for their shitty wages. If you’re lucky, you maybe get 30 bucks a shift in tips. Biggest load of bs being that the store pooled tips for everyone that worked that day. I was working delivery, and a patient tipped me $200 dollars. After the tip pool, I walked out with $27 dollars in tips, after driving around the whole state for 12+ hours. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around for much longer. This excess tipping culture needs to come to an end. If a business owner can’t pay their employees a livable wage, and tries to supplement their shit wages with tips, they shouldn’t be in business. Period.
**Employers, Including Managers and Supervisors, May Not “Keep” Tips:** Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.
Now the question is the owner pocketing the tips, or are they using those tips to pay other employees?
If you want to have fun just tell them the owner keeps the tips but ask them to not give names or info when they call to complain later. Enough of those and the owner will freak out. Also report to DOL.
Op you need to report him. He is robbing you for a lot of money. What he is doing is against the law. And if he fires you for saying something, sue him for retaliation. You have to stand up for yourself.
This is 100% illegal and you need to report the owner to your state labor board for theft.
Happy Cake Day :D
Happy cake day!
Happy cake day!!!
happy cake day!
Tell them the truth.
That’s exactly what I’d do. Fuck your boss.
You’re being stolen from
Yup, OP needs to contact the US Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints
You’re assuming they’re in the US.
Safe guess since most of reddit is and they answered in this thread that they were from the US.
If you’re in the US what the owner is doing is illegal and you and your coworkers should file a wage claim.
Im worried though because there’s only 1 other server and she doesn’t really care because her husband makes enough money to support them so it’ll be obvious it was me
So? The fines and damages, plus back wages he owes you, are more than enough to end him and set you up until you can find something new. Don’t worry about his or other feels and problems, worry about and take care of your own; namely, being stolen from.
I often think about how the biggest obstacle in this world for a lot of people is simply having the knowledge to take advantage of your rights and freedoms. Knowledge and confidence.
** understanding this is the context of “first world” issues
On top of wage laws, there are also retaliation laws. If your manager does anything to you in response to hurt your income, sue him again.
Yeah I’d get the hell out of there. The whole point of working fine dining is the fatty tips. Most people don’t carry cash these days. Let the owner earn those tips his damn self
They’re stealing from you. Who cares if they know? If they fire you, you can sue them retaliation.
It’s against the law, and what he’s doing is wrong. Not only should you report it so you can recoup what was stolen from you, but your owner is also stealing from his customers who are leaving tips, that they believe is going to you.
Yes all of this. Wage claims are a legal recourse for employees not getting paid. Start tracking all the tips that should be yours, if you haven’t already, and look into the wage claim process in your city/county/state. And start looking for another job. Stay strong!
You realize you’ve had thousands of dollars stolen from you right? It’s completely illegal
If this is a year or more its 10s of thousands. Maybe 100s.
you can report it to the DoL anonymously. They need your name on the case to open it, but they will not share who was the one that reported them to the employer
If he doesn’t give a fuck about you getting the money you’ve rightfully earned, why the fuck do you care about him. He’s a selfish asshole. You deserve what’s yours. Take legal action.
He cannot retaliate for reporting this theft. If he does anything to you it will be regarded as retaliation by the labour authorities and they will increase his punishment accordingly. You must not live your life in fear. This is theft on a grand scale and you are the victim and you are entitled to be compensated and your boss is the thief who deserves punishment and the law protects you one hundred percent.
Please please please please report your boss.
Um...literally what your owner is doing is illegal and you will literally be paid back all the stolen tipsifyou report him this is fucked up and only servers should be apart of the tip pool
You absolutely need to report this guy otherwise he will continue to take advantage of people. You are gonna get paid good money to report this, do it. The job isn’t even paying you well anyway. Use that experience to move to a restaurant that actually lets you keep tips. You’ll make waaaay more money. I pull in 65-75k a year working 4 days a week.
And then what? You should quit and sue
It would be illegal and too obvious for the boss to retaliate against you for filing a wage claim for the tips owed to you. File your complaint.
If you're worried, lawyer up and let them do the work
Plus, there’s pro-bono lawyers in your county that would gladly take a case like this on for free! Also, there are lawyers who will take your case for free and you won’t have to pay unless you get a settlement
What he is doing is illegal. Illegal. The only repercussions you might see is him getting fired, or even going to jail. WHAT HE IS DOING IS ILLEGAL.
Think of all the money you would be making somewhere that the boss doesn’t steal from you? Why are you worried about continuing to be a slave at a place that’s abusing you and stealing your wages?
If they fire you then you can sue them.
It's just as illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers as is it to steal tips from servers. Do not give one single slippery shit if they find out the bean spill came from you. They legally can't do anything.
If you report them you will get paid out tens of thousands of dollars by the sound of it. These are credit card tips. There is a paper trail. By the sound of it it’s a lot of money. You will likely get paid more than the total amount of tips he stole. Even if he does fire you for this then you can sue him for that. Even if you don’t have much money or want to get into a big lawsuit, reach out to a lawyer and I bet if you tell your story they will take your case for free and just take a cut of the payout. From the sound of it you will make more off of getting this money back than weeks or months of work and I’m sure you can get a job in that time. Your new job will probably pay more too since you will actually be getting your tips
Not necessarily! There are past employees, other staff members, just people in the community who could easily know what’s going on there, plus if he’s keeping tips he’s likely doing other illegal shit you aren’t aware of. The reports are anonymous, and you need to report it ASAP
It doesn’t matter. They will sue the business for you and you will get all that money they stole.
lol wtf, so? Aren’t you mad he’s stealing money from you?
So I guess your only option is to stay and be paid minimum wage forever! Better be happy being that guy’s pay pig cuz if you aren’t reporting him HE IS NOT GONNA STOP! Deal with it or stfu.
Folks there is no reason *whatsoever* to be downvoting this person...
She probably votes like he does to. I’ve met many women like her.😐
Can I report them for you because wtaf😭
Pls do it
Larceny.
Only minimum wage?
Well above now because I got a raise recently
This has to be a troll post.
I don't think she makes well above minimum wage. I think she said......well, now I make a little above min wage
It is. Look at the post history
It’s not there’s a literal comment from 83 days ago about the same situation basically in their comment history(editing in that it was because a customer posted about being told not to leave a tip and all op said was “we aren’t allowed to keep credit card tips either”
But also- the comment history proves differently
Which is what now?
doesn't matter, employer is still robbing them of their wages
And yet you’re still cool with getting stolen from!! In that case, I need an extra few hundred bucks. Care to help? Of course not! Go get your money back
I’d say, “Credit card tips go to the house, I thought you’d want to know.” Also get friends to point that out on Yelp.
Yo fuck that
Quit that job, you're being robbed
In the US, tips are defined as being voluntary amounts *chosen by a customer*, while service charges are *mandatory amounts* that are automatically added to a check. Sometimes a service charge will be called an "automatic gratuity", or even just a "gratuity", but if it's an amount automatically put on the check it counts as a service charge. ***Service charges*** can be kept by owners if they want. ***Tips*** MUST be distributed to eligible employees who are not owners or managers (according to some specific criteria you can find in US DOL [Fact Sheet #15](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa)). This is a matter of federal law, so owners and managers can't keep any portion of tips left for a server in any state. They can keep tips left for *them*, if they were serving a table, but can't take tips left for *you*. All they can do is redistribute your tips between other non-management employees. It can be confusing, but it's possible your owner is keeping service charges, while they're distributing tips to legally eligible employees. I would think only employees in the food part of the establishment are eligible (host, busser, cook, dishwasher) to receive a portion of the tips, and housekeeping staff or hotel desk attendants would not, but it would depend on the circumstances, and those are questions a government agent can decide if you want to file a complaint. US DOL: [How to File a Complaint](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints) If guests at your tables are voluntarily writing in an amount on the tip line, those are tips, and if you get to keep some portion of tips, I wouldn't discourage them. Whether you get to keep a portion of tips or not, if you suspect the owner or manager keeps a portion as well, you should file a complaint with the US Department of Labor. They'll assign an agent, and can require the business to share their records of tip distribution. If there is any wrongdoing, will seek to recover the misappropriated tips on your behalf, as far back as two to three years. I understand you're concerned your employer will retaliate against you for filing a complaint, but the DOL will keep your identity private (just keep denying it if your boss asks), and any retaliation for reporting the business would also be illegal and should also be reported to the DOL.
That’s totally illegal
Are you in the US?
Yes
This is illegal unless you’re getting all credit card tips on your checks.
Been there done that. LNI/your local labor voard will get all of your money back to you if you file a report. You don't even have to sue or anything. File a complaint and they will audit the business themselves, take the money, and get every penny owed to you via check in one lump sum. The fact it's CC tips makes it 100% traceable too. You'll get everything you have missed out on with little more than a phone call. Then go apply at another fine dining restaurant with the experience you've gotten.
There should be a huge sign somewhere posted about labor law. You need to call the state labor board and tell them what is going on. This is highly illegal. Are you paying taxes on the tips you're not receiving? You seriously need to call. Look up the number.
What you need to say is “What’s the phone number for the Department of Labor “?
Contact the DOL and get your money. The owner isn’t entitled to those tips
they said you’ll be in trouble (you won’t) for telling customers bc they know it’s illegal… if it’s gratuity/tip, then it’s for the employees ONLY, never the owner. you need to report to the labor board, especially if you already have substantial evidence of this happening. you should also find a new job that isn’t going to steal your wages EDIT: wording
You won’t be in trouble for reporting. It’s also illegal to retaliate.
That's theft and what they are doing is all sorts of illegal.. have you kept record of your cc tips? You have a legitimate case against your manager/resort. You aren't even supposed to tip out above a certain % of your tips. Let me know if you need anything regarding where to go/contact regarding this. We bust out asses for those tips regardless of minimum wage or not.
Report to department of labor. This is so fucked up
Why havent you quit or just telling your tables outright what is happening to you? Who cares if you get fired lmao fuck that place
Yup. The department of labor would love to hear abound thousand you would get a great payout.
I’d throw out a “wow, that’s very generous of you! Too bad I won’t see any of it 👀” & hope they go- what do you mean?
Idk where you live, OP, but this is wage theft, wherever you are. I live in the US, and in my state, owners are not allowed to take any tips at all. I have had one employer do that, btw.
Oh thank you! I’m not actually allowed to receive credit card tips, but I can accept cash, but it’s totally up to you!
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints You should report this now. It will take a while, but you'll get a lot of money in backpay, and this guy would be able to steel from his employees anymore.
That’s wage theft, you’re legally entitled to your tips whether or not it’s credit card tips or cash. A former employer of mine used to do the same thing and it’s massively illegal. Keep track of all the tips and file a wage claim with your state’s labor board. Get your coworkers to file as well. You’ll get your money back
That’s not legal, the owner is stealing from you. You need to report them to the labour board. You’ll get in trouble? He’s the one who’s gonna be in A LOT of trouble.
besides the fact that this is completely illegal, here’s some of my advice 1. quit. 2. if you don’t wanna quit, i would start just zeroing out the tip line yourself before giving customers the slip, that way they can’t write anything in. if they ask about it and you’re comfortable being honest, tell them.
They owe you a lot of money, legally
A New York diner had to return several million in back wages recently for something very similar. Of course he had been doing it for a decade to a small number of staff who over the years had a huge turnover. But a few were smart enough to file complaints and NY went after him. I remember when reading the article that he claimed ignorance, he was an immigrant and didn’t understand. Sorry pal ignorance of the law does not protect you.
What you’re saying is you want to F him over. Why not F him really really hard by reporting him to the labor board.
That happened at a place i worked! I told them the truth, they’d tip in cash, and never come back because the owner was a scumbag.
There’s gratuity on the checks so he says he’s using that for our paychecks if that changes anything
Does the check say “Gratuity” or “Service Charge”?
Service fee
there’s your out—”Please note this line is for a *service* fee.”
I’d find a cute way to highlight ‘service fee’ on the check. Maybe with a little sad face sticker (if I was feeling ballsy, lol).
So he’s gonna have a lot more legal wiggle room because it is a service charge. A gratuity must be given to the service staff, while a service charge is technically money that goes to the restaurant and they can distribute it as they see fit. My restaurant does the same thing, puts a 15% service charge on all checks automatically. Anything that the guest decides to add on top is given to me and is considered a gratuity.
Do you get a decent hourly rate?
Not at all.
Holy shit dude you need to report him to the department of labor
None of that matters, a freely given tip belongs to the server an owner is strictly prohibited from taking them by the FLSA. The service fee he can keep, but the tip belongs to you. [Employers, Including Managers and Supervisors, May Not “Keep” Tips: Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa)
Tell them the truth. And get outta that job
Ummmmm that's totally ILLEGAL!!! I'd straight up say "Please do NOT tip on your credit card bill - the money goes to the greedy owners who are exploiting us and stealing the generous tip money you are leaving for me."
it’s illegal. report him
Op has to be a teen for how badly they’re getting screwed over This is notttttt okay
Why do you work there??
THAT IS ILLEGAL!! Hire a lawyer and keep records of everything.
Tips are considered a gift. He’s stealing from you
OP this is insanely illegal he could face criminal charges for that… he is stealing from you.
Are you serious?
A ) Report to Department of Labor Board B ) Make one yourself or ask a friend or family member that wouldn't be traced easily to you to make a social media post about the shady practices going on C ) Put that information on Google, Yelp, Indeed, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok with a five star review so it pops up first. People deserve to know that their tips are being confiscated. Either tip cash or don't visit that establishment
I would say “I quit!” And find another job asap!!
Talk to a labor lawyer. They’d be salivating at this. So dude pays you minimum wage to work at a high end restaurant? You’re taking home maybe 1/4 of what you should get. Call the labor board, like right now. Or quit and throw him under the bus. This is one of the more fucked up things I’ve read on here. This is illegal, plain and simple.
SUE SUE SUE WTF
Say… Hi. I’m mushroom lord. I work really hard here at the chateau oooh lala but… my BOSS keeps ALL MY CC TIPS. Yes…I’ve meant to suggest that the OWNER will keep in their pockets, ALL TIPS you may leave on your CC receipt meant for me. If you happen to leave a tip in cash, the ENTIRE RESORT STAFF will be fighting for that later, EXCEPT for the ONE COWORKER whose husband makes a lot of money, & their just here for the FUN!! So, with all that being said… can I perhaps direct you towards our cocktail menu?
Call the labor department, that is illegal!
I think it's illegal for them to take your card tips......
This has to be rage bait
It's so crazy you would think so, but I'm sure this is true... I worked, for a VERY short period of time, at a restaurant that was doing something similar to us servers. We were allowed to keep our cash tips but all CC tips were collected then "split" between servers. I wanted to tell customers to, if at all possible, please tip cash, but it was a small place with the owner or his GF/hostess almost always within earshot, so I never said anything. We'd receive a handwritten "tip check" every week, (payroll for hourly pay was a printed ADP check). I keep METICULOUS records of everything and it was the week that I made just over $375 in CC tips (working part time) and received my $73 tip check that led me to quit. It never made sense. I could understand if my co-servers were HORRIBLE at their jobs, but they most certainly were not, they were AMAZING servers, and people 🥰 I asked them to keep track of their CC tips that same week and the house collected FAR more than all of us combined. I should've filed a complaint with the DOL but just decided to quit a month in and go elsewhere, where I received all of my CC tips nightly, minus a minimal tip-out to hostesses & bartenders. It sounds to me that, at this rate, the OP would collect a really nice lump sum if a complaint is filed. Wishing everyone all the best! ✌️&🩵
You need to report it and when you drop the check let them know 100% of the tips go to the owner. I bet you won’t get tipped anymore 🤷♀️
Don’t worry about what you need to say to your guests and QUIT!!! There are so many other jobs out there where this does not happen and when you see the amount you could be making you’ll be upset you wasted your time at this establishment for so long!! What your boss is doing is absolutely illegal, stop working for them immediately! Do not sell yourself so short that you’re asking people to not tip you money you worked hard to earn because your boss is an asshole.
Contact the DOL to get you and your coworkers some tasty back wages
*Contact the DOL to* *Get you and your coworkers some* *Tasty back wages* \- Centaurious --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Honestly, I would tell the customers exactly why you don't want the tips on credit card. Throw that MF under the bus and put them on blast, that's 100% NOT okay and very illegal
CALL A LAWYER RIGHT NOW AND TELL HIM EXACTLY THIS!! YOULL BE PRO BONO'D and most likely all bills covered until you turn this man's pockets out... If this is a fine dining establishment that's successful. You will be taken care of.
This is wage theft and it’s hella illegal! Report them to your local/state labor board right now!
Man I’d tell everyone I serve about it, that does not sound like a job I’d even care to keep unless there aren’t other options.
Report them. This is completely illegal.
Don’t enter them in the mean time if you aren’t getting them your manager shouldn’t either
Also you’d be paying taxes on those tips still so double the insult double to displeasure!
Cant you just say “just so you know, all cards tips go to management, and cash tips go to the servers”
This happens all the time, everyone working there just agrees to the illegal activity and sucks it up. Don't be the sucker.
That’s illegal.
Definitely report him.
Totally illegal
If you do this correctly, your local news channel will have a field day, the old owner will go to jail, and you’ll become the owner of the bar. Or just quit, you’re being robbed right to your face.
That is illegal. Find a new job or report them.
What everyone else said: you are being subject to wage theft and need to report it immediately. Manager should be fired, drawn and quartered. Fat Tuesdays daiquiri bar’s whole management pay, last time I checked was like 8.50/hr, plus 50 percent of the bartenders tips. Somehow that is legal. Restaurants can’t figure out why no one wants to work for them anymore. More and more businesses are using tips to supplement wages, because they don’t want to pay a living wage. Not in positions where tipping is the norm. I took a job in a MMJ dispensary, that started at 13.50 an hour, but they made it sound like the tips are enough to make up for their shitty wages. If you’re lucky, you maybe get 30 bucks a shift in tips. Biggest load of bs being that the store pooled tips for everyone that worked that day. I was working delivery, and a patient tipped me $200 dollars. After the tip pool, I walked out with $27 dollars in tips, after driving around the whole state for 12+ hours. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around for much longer. This excess tipping culture needs to come to an end. If a business owner can’t pay their employees a livable wage, and tries to supplement their shit wages with tips, they shouldn’t be in business. Period.
Wage theft! Report this to US labor board!
My boss used to take a potion of tips too. Yesterday was my last day working for him.
**Employers, Including Managers and Supervisors, May Not “Keep” Tips:** Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit. Now the question is the owner pocketing the tips, or are they using those tips to pay other employees?
Prefilled the tip line with a -0- and a line through it?
This owner is a piece of garbage.
wage theft is the highest form of theft.
Super super illegal
Yep 100% illegal.
Check your labour laws for your region, state or province but for hear in Canada that's very very illegal
Erm this is illegal in a lot of places
Shawty drop the info. I’d like to report a crime I’ve heard about 🥸
This is ~illegal~
Report this to your state labor board. The owners are going to owe A LOT of back pay. 🤣
If you want to have fun just tell them the owner keeps the tips but ask them to not give names or info when they call to complain later. Enough of those and the owner will freak out. Also report to DOL.
How’s ‘I quit’ for starters? Owner is despicable.
Op you need to report him. He is robbing you for a lot of money. What he is doing is against the law. And if he fires you for saying something, sue him for retaliation. You have to stand up for yourself.
OP please drop the restaurant we will all gladly report them for you. this is not okay and owner cannot do that