Labor, hourly wage question ?

[K-2]

A woman works as a server (waitress) at an upscale resort.
They get a base salary below minimum wage since they make a lot in tips.
About 2 times a month the BOSS, not the owner, has servers do other work, like decorate the Xmas tree
for example , they are paid their base salary, as mentioned it is below minimum wage.
What is your opinion on this? No one is or has ever made an issue of this but they don't like it.

 

[alldodge]

As a non-attorney type, it is my opinion this is illegal. Same goes for the case were the napkin folders and cleanup crew were allowed by Legal Seafood to share the waitress and bar tender tips. Bar tenders and waitress make less then minimum and this is because they make tips. So if they are doing jobs other then what they are being paid for it is illegal. Now if the employer paid minimum wage when they were doing it then not so much

 

[Bifflefan]

Both my daughters are waitresses, and my ex-wife is their boss. It IS LEGAL to have them do other work as assigned as long as their average wage (including tips) is still above minimum wage. If they make tips like my daughters, they make well more than minimum wage. If

 

[robert graham]

Maybe time to call a Labor Attorney for his thoughts on this....What you describe sounds like a common/typical labor issue among restaurant/hospitality workers who receive a considerable portion of their pay from tips....Of course as soon as an attorney becomes involved(if he does) then a lot of friendly good-will is lost between employees and management....But the Labor Attorney can tell you what your options may be....could easily become a class action item....

 

[MTboatguy]

I am no expert, but have helped a couple of friends with restaurants they own here where I live and I know that if you have them doing work that does not afford them the opportunity to make tips, then they have to keep track of the hours, then they average out the hours by what they are paid for a 2 week period and if it comes out to more than our state minimum wage, then you are good to go, if less, then the owner makes up the difference to ensure they made at least minimum wage for that 2 week period.

 

[K-2]

I did some research and still doing more. It seems to vary from state to state or from one federal court to another if things got ugly
The general consensus seems to be the tipped worker may not work for more than 20% of the time at a task where there is no tip opportunity.
Another question that arises is can you pay tipped workers their base pay, ($4.90 in Arizona) for attending safety meetings, even if they have to do that
on a day off.

 

[robert graham]

My ex-wife was 25 plus years with a big Labor Attorney group here and they were on retainer with the restaurant management at Steak and Ale chain and many grievances were over tips, wages, etc....seems this continues to be a point of friction in the restaurant/hospitality industry.....

 

[roscoe]

I did some research and still doing more. It seems to vary from state to state or from one federal court to another if things got ugly
The general consensus seems to be the tipped worker may not work for more than 20% of the time at a task where there is no tip opportunity.
Another question that arises is can you pay tipped workers their base pay, ($4.90 in Arizona) for attending safety meetings, even if they have to do that
on a day off.

It would appear that the same "average hourly wage" rule would apply.

And if they are scheduled to attend a meeting, it is no longer their day off.

If they were told to go to a meeting, and not get paid at all, then that would be an issue.