I have a question - not sure who governs tip laws, whether it is state based or nationally regulated. I work at a facility where children have birthday parties and other parties like that. The owner of the facility requires the manager to ask the paying group at the end of each party if they want to leave a gratuity for the staff. Unfortunately the owner keeps all the tips for himself, despite the fact that he isn't even at the facility during the parties.

My question - I don't really care about the actual money as its just a weekend part time job which I don't think we really need to be tipped for, but I view this as pretty unethical, especially when you are specifying the tip is for the staff and keeping it for yourself.

9/4/2011 9:38:39 PM

how much are you making per hour?

and was it ever discussed when you signed up for the job?

if you're making above minimum wage, then while it's shitty, it's not illegal (at least i don't think so)

9/4/2011 9:41:51 PM

http://www.nclabor.com/

9/4/2011 9:56:33 PM

Legal or not, that's a dick move.

9/4/2011 9:58:41 PM

Legal or not, that's a dick move.

9/4/2011 11:32:00 PM

^^^ Yeah I'm making well above minimum wage - and it really isn't a big deal money wise as this is just a part time job (I work the weekends like 10 hours max) that I'm using to recoop wedding/honeymoon money.

It wasn't discussed when I signed up for the job, and I would be 100% fine with not getting tips. My issue is just the fact that the owner requires the manager to ask for a tip for the staff, then doesn't allow her to give us any part of the tips.

9/5/2011 12:09:33 PM

Obtaining property by false pretenses?

9/5/2011 12:22:23 PM

i would go the passive aggressive route and anonymously post reviews on various websites stating such.

9/5/2011 12:23:04 PM

You need to get all the other underlings to talk to the manager and say how its bush league bullshit. The owner is forcing this?

How many people are in this company? Would it be difficult just to get everyone to quit? Or threaten to?

9/5/2011 12:28:52 PM

Oh and just the tip?

9/5/2011 12:34:05 PM

i thought this thread was about if you were required to pay a tip when you eat out

which you arent




but i think its a dick move since the owner doesnt share

9/5/2011 12:37:07 PM

Quote :

"Would it be difficult just to get everyone to quit? Or threaten to?"

in this economy?

9/5/2011 12:49:42 PM

Get a tape recorder, stand close to him when he says this, hold onto it when you're ready to quit and use it to fuck him over (like local newspaper, have them spin it into the owner screwing the workers, or take his ass to court or see if you can press charges against him in criminal court).

[Edited on September 5, 2011 at 1:02 PM. Reason : Oh, and make sure you're part of the conversation as well to stay within the NC wiretapping laws.]

9/5/2011 1:00:09 PM

you don't work at Mitchells catering do you?

9/5/2011 2:16:24 PM

^^^the op stated they were doing it for some extra scratch on the side, this job wasn't keeping them alive... I don't know what situation the other people are in. This is why there's a question mark. Don't be a goddamn retard.

9/5/2011 2:21:57 PM

5 on your side?

seriously, it IS illegal if they are soliciting tips for the staff and then not giving those tips to the staff.

9/5/2011 3:07:00 PM

Who has the recourse? The people from whom the tips were solicited, or those for which the tips were intended?

9/5/2011 3:15:31 PM

It is a small locally owned business, I dont need the money but its nice to have some extra cash. There are others there who need it though.

I wouldnt care if the owner werent such a sleezy guy. Yells at the manager for the place not being clean despite the fact that he is too cheap to buy good cleaning supplies.

And it is fucked up when customers actually ask how many people were working and tip an amount based on that, then we dont see it.

Owners defense of it (based on what the manager has said) is that our wages basically come from the tips, so thats why we dont see it. But then dont call that a tip.

9/5/2011 6:17:08 PM

I could see this as being fraud, saying the tips are for the staff, but they're not. They're for the manager. That is fraud.

what he said

Quote :

"5 on your side? seriously, it IS illegal if they are soliciting tips for the staff and then not giving those tips to the staff. "

[Edited on September 5, 2011 at 7:45 PM. Reason : .]

9/5/2011 7:44:13 PM

^^thats total horse shit... tips are an incentive to do well, paying people anyway saying the money comes from the tips removes the incentive and means he's just a bad manager... or he's a bullshitter.

I'm going with both.

[Edited on September 5, 2011 at 8:23 PM. Reason : .]

9/5/2011 8:22:17 PM

Just call nclabor and ask

They'll at least give you a place to start in regards to whether you're fucked or not

9/5/2011 8:48:42 PM

According to the department of labor as long as he is making sure everyone is making above minimum wage (which to my knowledge everyone is), he can pocket all the tips he wants.

Pretty fucked up. I intend to find another part time weekend job, call him out, and quit asap.

9/6/2011 8:26:44 AM

name the business here.

9/6/2011 8:35:21 AM

we don't need no tips let the motherfucker burn, burn motherfucker, burn

9/6/2011 9:00:26 AM

Find an online poll where his business is an option and TWW will vote for everyone else except that place. It's the best we can do.

9/6/2011 9:00:37 AM

seriously? TWW can do much better than that.

9/6/2011 9:52:49 AM

Quote :

"name the business here."

not sure if you want us to deal with it as a collective
you might lose your job
but i bet we could get some kind of result. might not be the best one for you though.

9/6/2011 10:21:01 AM

didn't he say he was going to quit?

9/6/2011 10:28:22 AM

? tl;dr ^

9/6/2011 10:29:47 AM

Quote :

"Pretty fucked up. I intend to find another part time weekend job, call him out, and quit asap."

9/6/2011 11:20:31 AM

Not willing to give the name and have to quit quite yet, I'm working like 15 hours this weekend that I could use. Still need to find something else part time or at least get caught back up money wise before I can throw the job away.

9/6/2011 4:56:54 PM

Legal or not, that's a dick move.

but you always seemed like a dick, anyway, so sux2bu

9/6/2011 5:33:14 PM

just don't ask and say they didn't want to tip

if he's not there how is he gonna know?

9/6/2011 5:49:32 PM

I think the manager did the tip soliciting

9/6/2011 6:03:58 PM

The manager is told to ask. For her its a full time job, she needs the money.. so she does what the owner says.

If I were the one handling the payment at the end of the day I wouldn't ask.

9/6/2011 6:06:18 PM

Quote :

"if you're making above minimum wage, then while it's shitty, it's not illegal"

this is what it comes down to

life sucks and the only thing folks making minimum wage can do is complain about folks who own facilities

9/6/2011 6:06:39 PM

Wow yeah I'd report him to WRAL, etc. What a dick move.

9/6/2011 6:36:57 PM

^^ For one, I'm not making minimum wage. And like I said from the beginning, it isn't about the money, its about the fact that I consider it unethical and shitty.

9/6/2011 6:47:37 PM

I guess the best course of action maybe is to sit down with the owner and tell him you think what he is doing is legal but is also unethical. Tell him that you have a problem with it.

Then gauge his reaction before deciding where to go from there. If he rages, tell the employees what's going on before quitting. If he blows it off, just quit. If he has a change of heart, continue employment.


[Edited on September 6, 2011 at 8:05 PM. Reason : -]

9/6/2011 8:03:47 PM

I think tips are Bull shit, i work retail and do not get tips. My service is better than 99% of those who work on tips. I work for a price, its my job, and cannot accept tips.

9/7/2011 12:38:05 AM

Waiters get paid $2.13/hour. Unless the service is just terrible, there is no excuse for not tipping anything less than 15%. And even if you think it should be different and restaurant managers and owners should pay their employees more, the fact of the matter is that they don't. So bust out the extra money or don't eat out.

I know that's not what this thread is about. I'm just responding to this guy posting above me.

9/7/2011 12:44:30 AM

Waiters/bartenders remember shit tippers & don't hesitate to spread the word should they see the person again. If you don't tip, better not go to that same restaurant again, unless you enjoy playing the "will i get sick after eating" game

As for the OP, post the name of the business so the thread is worthwhile

[Edited on September 7, 2011 at 2:15 AM. Reason : .]

9/7/2011 2:14:20 AM

Quote :

"Retention of Tips: A tip is the sole property of the tipped employee regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit. The FLSA prohibits any arrangement between the employer and the tipped employee whereby any part of the tip received becomes the property of the employer. For example, even where a tipped employee receives at least $7.25 per hour in wages directly from the employer, the employee may not be required to turn over his or her tips to the employer. "

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm

9/7/2011 8:30:28 AM

Who is crying?

^Thanks.. interesting.

9/7/2011 8:31:42 AM

After some research, I've found the source of quagmire02's hate for dzags18:
Dog toys:message_topic.aspx?topic=550572
North Face Jackets: message_topic.aspx?topic=546698


But apparently he can connect when talking about dogshit: message_topic.aspx?topic=522788

[Edited on September 7, 2011 at 9:52 AM. Reason : -]

9/7/2011 9:40:32 AM

Quote :

"I only had a question as to the legality of the owners being an asshole, which I got answered already by the dept. of labor."

What did they say out of curiosity?

Quote :

"only applies if the tip is given directly"

I don't believe this is correct. When I was working in coffee shops, the store managers were not entitled to any tips left in the tip jar, although we did have one jerk that would take tips anyway. I couldn't remember if that was a corporate policy that the major companies installed or a labor regulation, but what jethromoore posted would seem to point to the latter.

9/7/2011 9:46:01 AM

^The lady said so long as everyone makes minimum wage he can do whatever he wants with the tips. The link posted above sems to contradict that though.

9/7/2011 9:55:16 AM

let's try this thread again...

9/7/2011 10:31:48 AM

This is a good reason to tip in cash and give it directly to the intended person. If I was a customer and my tip wasn't given to who I was intentionally tipping I'd be pissed and I wouldn't return.

It could be helpful to your potential customers if you or a co-worker posted "anonymous" reviews on google etc about this practice warning them of the deceit. Slightly passive-aggressive but also helpful for the customers to know beforehand and save them money.

9/7/2011 10:46:20 AM

Quote :

"The link posted above sems to contradict that though."

since it was purged by qntmoverlord in an attempt to keep this thread as full of useful information as possible, i'll post it again:

it seems you don't understand how tips work...YOU were not given a tip, YOUR MANAGER was...if the patrons were flocking to give you a tip in person and your manager intercepted them so as to take all the money for the facilities owner, you'd have a point...and unless your manager is saying that you specifically will get the tip (as opposed to saying "the staff"), you still aren't entitled to anything

unethical, yes...illegal, no...stand up for yourself and take it up with the manager and/or owner, stop whining and quietly sit back and let it keep happening, or quit

9/7/2011 11:20:54 AM