My understanding is that under either federal and/or California law, mandatory tip-outs or tip-pooling is illegal. I have been searching for the relevant laws and I have found many discussions on the topic, but some of them give contradictory info.
The way it works at my restaurant, when we were hired, we were told the “suggested” tip-outs for us would be 10% to our busser, 10% to the expediters, and 10% of our alcohol sales to the bar every night. I have been following this “guideline” since the restaurant opened 3 months ago.
Last night, my manager confronted me and told me that one of the bussers complained that he didn’t feel I was tipping him enough. He said “Ask anyone in the business and they will tell you 20% is the standard for bussers”. I said that’s not what I was told when we were hired, and also that by law he is not supposed to be involved in it anyway. He told me if I didn’t start tipping more he is just going to make sure I get put on the worst stations (that make the least money) so he “doesn’t have to deal with it”. I feel like this is a big bowl of wrong, and I am putting this in GQ because I want factual information on the relevant laws. But I am currently considering going to HR with the matter and would also be interested in hearing opinions on whether doing so would be the best course of action for me.
P.S. - one of the corporate reps for the restaurant told me recently that there is a new California law saying that the management isn’t even allowed to suggest guidelines or discuss/invole itself with the amount of tip-outs. I am trying to locate this law especially, if it exists. Thank you.
California Labor Code §351 et seq prohibits employers from maintaining any tip-pooling policy which requires employees to distribute or share any portion of their tips with any owner, manager or supervisor of a business establishment.
A restaurant policy that requires servers to share tips with bussers, maitre-d’s, or bartenders will likely pass legal muster so long as those employees do not have the authority to hire or discharge any employee or to supervise, direct, or control the acts of employees.
Stir the pot if you wish, but your chances of getting anywhere but into a crummy section are likely to be slim.
351 says that employers shall not do certain things. 353 says that if they do those things, they should keep accureate records. Why would any employer obey 353, and provide grounds for a prosecution under 351?
I’ve been told illegally gained money is supposed to be reported on income tax forms. I’ve been told that at least one practical reason for this is to give the prosecutors something to prosecute for (i.e. tax evasion) even if they can’t get a conviction on the actual illegal activity.
I don’t know for sure that either of those fact-like entities are actual facts. Would be interested in confirmation.
If they are true, then I bet the pair of rules you quoted serve a similar function.
I have, and they are not tipping 20% either. I’ve also been reading messageboards devoted to restaurant workers and many think even 10% to each is a lot. (10% of alcohol sales to the bar can sometimes be more than 10% of my total tips, on a Friday or Saturday night for instance. So if I gave 20% to the busser, 10% to the expediters, and ~%15 to the bar, plus 20% to Uncle Sam… I’m keeping 35% of my tips.) Technically I can sometimes take the tip-outs off the top when I report my tips for tax purposes, but it’s not always possible due to a majority being credit card tips, which get reported automatically with no system in place for deducting them from my taxes withheld.
In any case, I’m giving away huge amounts of my money already, and I’ve basically been told that amount will be going down substantially no matter what now. (I looked at my tip log and last month I gave $200 in tip-outs just to bussers. If I doubled that, it’d be another $200 a month which I just can’t afford)
Clarification: I meant the amount I’m making overall will be going down substantially no matter what. Either pony up double the tips to bussers, or get put on crappy stations that make little money? Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway!), it isn’t a happy situation for me. Why should I allow my manager to disrespect the law like that?
Did you get an employee handbook type thing? If you did, check that. If not, go to HR and see if THEY have a procedure booklet about it. If it’s not in writing a lot of the time it doesn’t count, anyway.
My sister used to be a busser and she never even demanded 10 percent. Greedy.
I’ve checked with other servers, I’ve checked with servers at other restaurants, and I’ve done other research besides. Ten percent for bussers is the correct amount. This is in keeping with what I was told when I was hired. I won’t be giving my bussers any more than 10 percent. There should be no trouble: It’s clear that whichever busser spoke to you is making a bid to recieve more money than he or she is due. Once you inform that busser that this won’t work–that he or she will be receiving just the usual 10 percent tip-out–it is almost certain he or she will back down.
You threatened to put me in a position where I will make less money in order to not have to deal with the trouble. Which do you think will cause you less trouble? Having bussers empowered to come whining to you for more money from the waiters, while having dissatisfied waitstaff to deal with as well? Or rather, would it be less trouble to have satisfied, happily working waitstaff and bussers who understand they can not arbitrarily stir up trouble by demanding money through you that is not due to them?
It is in your best interest, obviously, to do the right thing here. But there is, unfortunately, more to it than that. There are serious legal and ethical issues with you even discussing this issue with me at all. I do not intend to bring these issues to anyone’s attention. I believe you are doing the best job you can in a difficult situation. But please understand that if you do not do the right thing in this case, my hand may be forced. I like working here, and I am not in general at all dissatisfied. I do not like to cause trouble for you and I will take every effort to avoid doing so."
Adjust this speech for time and change details as appropriate.
By the way, if your manager doesn’t handle this in the right way, and if this really is a budget breaking issue for you, I think that rather than trying to adjust your budget to new conditions, you really should look for a job somewhere else with pay similar to what you’re recieving now. (Easy for me to say, I know.) If your manager doesn’t do the right thing here, then it’s probably not worth trying to work under him. The costs to you for doing so are not only monetary.
Anyway, if its true that 10 percent is fair or more than fair, then its most likely that bussers at other restaurants won’t be trying to pull a trick like this one on you. You just got a bad apple in your bunch.
We did get an employee handbook and this issue is definitley not in writing anywhere. It is a sticky situation for the managers since they know it is a legally grey area for them to get too involved in it, while at the same time they know it is a regularly expected part of the business and they need to keep all of their employees’ morale up.
Frylock, thank you for your suggestion. I think it’s very well-put and reasonable. I should note that we have 4 managers we deal with regularly and one GM (who we rarely deal with much directly). The one who confronted me about this was one of the assistant managers who is in charge of the bussers specifically. He tends to favor them in many other situations as well. I think if I bring this issue calmly and rationally in front of him and at least one other manager (particularly, the one officially in charge of the servers), there’s a chance of it being handled responsibly (I hope). If not, I may indeed have to seek employment elsewhere, which is always a pain and never guaranteed to be any better. But thank you.
At my So Cal restaurant, we tip 10% to bar, 10% to food runner and 15% to busboys. I normally tip 20% to the busboys anyway and I still walk with at least 10% of my sales every night. Maybe you need to increase the baseline of your tips.