The Department of Labor is very close to allowing tips earned by servers in the restaurant industry to be distributed throughout the entire staff, including cooks. While this may seem like a fair practice to some, there are far more complications than there are points of clarification. In fact, tip-pooling actually gives the employer the freedom to keep all tips for the business instead of distributing them to the staff at all, in some cases. When it comes to tip-pooling, employment lawyers in NYC almost always have to be involved at some point to ensure employees are getting fairly compensated.
Sharing Tips Brings Plenty of Challenges
Redistributing tips among the entire staff means the inequality in pay could be evened out between servers and cooks. However, employers would then be required to pay servers a higher hourly rate, which would likely be the minimum wage in the state. And if an employer pays a server minimum wage, then the employer can choose what to do with any and all tips received. Talk to the best NYC law firm you can find if you don’t believe your tips are being handled properly, since this is a very sensitive and fluid law with many complications.
Can Employers Legally Keep Your Tips?
It’s actually legally possible for employers to keep all tips received by servers if the employer is paying each employee the minimum wage rate. Of course, it would likely be in the best interest of the business to redistribute the tips to their staff, but they do have a legal ground to keep every dollar if they choose. If you aren’t getting paid at least minimum wage and aren’t allowed to keep your tips, you may need to speak to a New York lawyer as soon as possible.
When in Doubt, Speak to a Wage Law Attorney
Tip-pooling brings many challenges and there are advantages and disadvantages to all parties involved. The duty is on the employers to compensate employees in accordance with the law, so employment lawyers in NYC go to work to ensure employees are fairly compensated. If you’re ever in doubt, talk to the best New York lawyer you can find to discuss your case.
Gordon & Gordon wants to ensure employees receive every dollar they earn while on the job. Sometimes employers will intentionally not pay employees fairly, but sometimes the error is unintentional. Regardless, our NYC law firm can help straighten out any situation and promise you will receive the compensation you’re entitled to. Be sure to contact us to set up a free evaluation to discuss your case with one of our experienced wage law attorneys.