Many service employees in Atlanta augment their earnings with the tips they receive from satisfied customers. In fact, many waiters, waitresses, movers, bartenders, and other service providers derive the bulk of their income from tips. If tips play a role in your income, understanding what your employer can and cannot do with these tips is paramount. If you have a concern regarding your employer taking tips, the experienced employment law attorneys at Hall & Lampros, LLP, in Atlanta (404-876-8100) are here to help.
The Federal Government Weighs In
The issue of tips has long been a matter of debate, but in 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor weighed in with exacting updates that address earlier amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which are intended to protect tipped workers. The government’s express focus is prohibiting employers, including managers and supervisors, from keeping employees’ tips. The Department also addresses so-called dual job regulations in which employers are allowed a partial credit against their minimum wage obligations (as offset by tips).
The Critical Determinations
The most important point to keep in mind regarding your employer taking tips is that your tips belong to you and that you have a legal right to them. As such, the federal government lays out the following important protections:
- Not under any circumstances can an employer, manager, or supervisor keep tips that are intended for employees, and this includes those tips collected in tip pools.
- Those employers who pay their employees the full minimum wage and who take no credit for tips may allow non-tipped employees, such as dishwashers, bussers, and line cooks, to participate in the tip pool.
- Generally, those employers who collect tips for a tip pool must distribute the tips to the appropriate employees within the same pay period.
In other words, you – as an employee who receives tips – have a distinct right to those tips, which the federal government takes very seriously. Learn more about protecting your rights as an employee by reaching out to the dedicated employment attorneys at Hall & Lampros, LLP, in Atlanta today.
Our employment law firm represents people who’ve had their tips stolen by their employers in Marietta, Decatur, LaGrange and in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Contact us today by calling or texting 404-876-8100 or fill out our contact form and we will contact you ASAP.
Tips Defined
A tip is an amount of money that exceeds the final bill, which customers leave for their service providers as a form of gift or gratuity (in recognition of the service provided). Whether or not a customer tips – and the amount of said tip – is at the sole discretion of the customer in question. Tips always belong to the servers whom they are left for (or to a tip pool that is distributed in accordance with the law). It is important to note, however, that those mandatory service charges that many restaurants tack on for large parties are not tips in the eyes of the law. While customers tend to think of these service charges (which are often identified as gratuities) as tips, their servers may not see any part of them.
Georgia Tip Law
According to Minimum-Wage.org:
“Georgia labor law allows tipped employees to be paid a lower cash wage than the standard Georgia minimum wage by their employers, as up to $5.12 in tips earned per hour can be deducted from their wage as a “Tip Credit”. This means that, with the maximum tip credit taken, tipped employees must be paid a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour, for a total minimum compensation of $7.25 per hour (including tips). Georgia’s allowed tip credit is $5.12, the same amount allowed under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The minimum cash wage allowed under the FLSA, $2.13 per hour, is the lowest cash wage allowed in any state.”
Not All Employers Are on the Up and Up
The fact is that, when it comes to tips, employers have a lot of wiggle room to engage in less-than-forthright practices that amount to stealing from their employees. Sometimes, this is predicated on lax bookkeeping practices, but sometimes, it is something far more sinister. Regardless of the impetus, however, such practices harm employees and should not be tolerated. Consider the following tricks of the trade:
- Using tips to offset the pay of those employees who do not directly serve customers, such as banquet managers and sous chefs
- Subtracting the credit card charge for the entire bill from the tip (rather than the amount that applies to the tip alone, which is generally legal)
- Using tip money to pay the back-of-house employees, such as dishwashers, bussers, and cooks
- Stealing directly off the top of the tip pool (the fact that employers, managers, and supervisors generally have control of tip money prior to it being dispersed makes this an easy maneuver for unscrupulous employers)
An Experienced Attorney Can Help Protect Your Rights Regarding Tips
If you work for tips and have concerns about the fairness of your employer’s practices, the seasoned Atlanta employment law attorneys at Hall & Lampros, LLP, recognize the gravity of your situation and have the experience and keen legal insight to help resolve this important issue favorably. The fact is that the law takes a dim view of your employer taking tips, so please do not wait to reach out and contact or call/text us at 404-876-8100 today for more information about how we can help you.
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