If I work for a food delivery company where customers, order, tip and pay through an app but there was a mistake in the amount I was tipped, do I have any right to this money?
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If I work for a food delivery company where customers, order, tip and pay through an app but there was a mistake in the amount I was tipped, do I have any right to this money?
Someone tipped me $66.36, which seemed odd at the time. I assumed it would be corrected before I would be paid. A week later I was paid for the delivery and it included the $66.36 tip. I did not hear anything about this until 3 weeks later. I got a phone call saying the tip was an error and I needed to give the money back. They are threatening me with legal action.
Asked on September 23, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
No, you do not have any rights to the money you must be paid for the work you do, at your rate, and given the actual tips you earn, but an accounting, software, or administrative error does not create any entitlement to money. If you do not return the excess funds, they could in theory sue you for it, though that is hardly likely to be economically worthwhile--still they do have that right. They could also fire you "for cause," so you do not receive unemployment, even if you would otherwise be eligible for it.
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