Can a restaurant make servers pay for customers who walk out on tickets?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a restaurant make servers pay for customers who walk out on tickets?
If a table at a restaurant departs/sneaks out and does not pay, can the manager force to make the server pay the tab? The tab in this case was $100.
Asked on February 26, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, New Mexico
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
When a customer leaves a restaurant without paying it is called a "dine and dash". In most states, it is against the law for an employer to deduct from a worker's salary for an amount owed by a customer who has skipped out on their check. Minimum wage law guarantees full pay for all hours worked. An employer who illegally deducts money from an employee's wages faces severe penalties unless a worker specifically agrees to this in writing or the terms of an employment contract/union agreement allow for this. However, an employee could be terminated for not doing so. The fact is that most work relationships are "at will". This means that you can choose to work for an employer or not. In turn, your employer can fire you for any reason or no at all. Accordingly, while you have the legal right to refuse to make up for a walk-out, you could lose your job for not doing so.
Here is a link to a site that will explain further: https://employment-law.freeadvice.com/employment-law/employment-law/salary_employr.htm
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.