Is it legal for my employer to keep our tips?
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Is it legal for my employer to keep our tips?
I wash cars for a living and when I was hired I was told everyone makes $8.05
an hour and we all split tips evenly. We have a tip jar and all day customers
hand me tips which I place in the jar. I’ve been working here for over a month and have not received any tips and none of my fellow employees have either. I asked my boss about it and he said everybody makes minimum wage with no tips. He said the house keeps the tips.
I live in Florida by the way. Is this
legal, if not what should I do?
Asked on November 19, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, it is not legal for your employer to keep tips: tips belong to the tippable employees (e.g. the employees doing the car washing and getting the tips; not bookkeeper, who does not perform a service for which he/she is tipped). You could contact the department of labor to file a complaint (they may be able to help you--contacting them is a good first thing to try), and/or sue (possibly together with your fellow employees) for the tips in small claims court.
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