Is Your Employer Stealing Your Tips?- Know Your Legal Rights
The employees working in hotels or restaurants usually get tips from customers, to who they have served food and provided services. In many cases, these tips are acquired by the employer. Some employees just stay quiet because they believe that they will lose their job if they retaliate. However, they are not aware of the fact that they can use their rights and hire an employment law attorney near me, who can help them stop this scenario. It is illegal for the manager to take tips, which have been earned by the employee. It is considered the sole property of the waiter or service provider.
Understanding the stolen tip
A tip is a small amount of money, which customers may give to the waiter for serving them food or services. Depending on their wish, they can show a token of appreciation to the waiter. This money belongs to the waiter and may make the most of their extra income. These waiters may rely on this money to meet their daily needs. However, it does not belong to the hotel owner in any way. If he is insisting you pay this money back to him, you should take it as a red alert and raise your voice against it. It can be considered a wage theft if the employer is cutting down the minimum wage and the employee is not taking away this much salary at the end of the month.
What should you do if your tips are being stolen?
If you believe that the employer is stealing your tips, you should make up your mind to stand up and speak for yourself. If you don’t do so, he will keep stealing your money. Below mentioned are a few steps, which you should follow:
- Discuss with your employer that you are aware of your pay structure and rights to acquire the tips. He should understand your concern and try to resolve the matter amicably.
- Keep the details of your tips on a daily basis so that you can produce them as evidence.
- Hire an attorney as soon as you get some wrong signals from your employer such as threats to fire from your job or not paying you your salary.
- Know your legal options and rights to file a lawsuit.
If your attorney believes that you should get your tips in a legal manner, he will suggest you a lawsuit.
