How Some Employers Exploit Tipped Employees?

No matter what your job is (waiter, bartender, busboy, or any other profile for that matter) earning tips at work requires hard work. Sooner or later, you will realize that making a living wage on tips depends on whether or not customers choose to tip well enough and whether the company plays games with the tip process. Unfortunately, many of the tipped employees do not know about the tip credit provisions and unscrupulous employers take advantage of the process.

If the amount of tips you regularly receive is more than $30 per month, you may be considered as tipped employee. You are entitled to keep your tips with you, but it also means that your employer can claim a tip credit.

To comply with the minimum wage regulations, your employer needs to still pay wages of at least $2.13 per hour, as the employer can claim up to $5.12 per hour as a tip credit. If your employer uses this credit then it suggests that your employer expects you to receive minimum tip of $5.12 per hour. The employer must provide you all the mandatory information before claiming a tip credit.

However, if the company does not provide you the mandatory information about the tip credit, it may be held accountable for unpaid wages and/or a tip credit violation. If you have any uncertainties regarding this, you can discuss your situation with a professional overtime and unpaid wages lawyer.

Nonetheless, your employer must notify you about few things such as below-

• The cash wage he is paying you should be at least $2.13 per hour.
• The additional amount claimed as tip credit cannot go beyond $5.12 per hour.
• The tip credit claimed cannot go over the amount of tip you actually receive.
• You are entitled to keep your tips, unless there is any tip pooling agreement restricted to workers that usually receive tips. This is an important issue! The company itself and/or management is not allowed to keep a portion of your tips.
• No tip credit will apply to any of the tipped workers that have not been educated about the tip credit conditions.
• Overtime for time and a half is not $3.25 an hour! Overtime is the non-tipped minimum wage $7.25 with time and half, then subtracting the tip credit, which should put the hourly base rate at least $5 an hour for overtime.

If you believe that your employer has failed to tell you the required information about tip credits, you may be able to collect your lost wages. Speak with a professional lawyer to have your situation evaluated. You can book a free telephonic consultation session with these attorneys and you do not need to pay them any fee unless they win your case.