Service professionals in the restaurant industry rely on gratuity for the bulk of their income. Minimum wage laws allow restaurants to pay servers a fraction of what employees in other professions typically earn per hour.
The lower minimum wage for servers reflects the practice of providing a gratuity or tip after enjoying a meal at a restaurant or a few drinks at a bar. Customers provide supplemental funds that can result in a much higher hourly wage for professionals who provide an excellent standard of service.
Unfortunately, sometimes employers who do not offer competitive hourly wages further diminish the income of employees by engaging in tip pooling. Some forms of tip pulling are legal, but others are violations of a worker’s rights.
When does tip pooling become wage theft?
Massachusetts has very clear rules about tip pooling. It is legal to combine collected tips so that everyone working on a particular evening receives the same amount in gratuity for the shift. Restaurants can also require that servers provide a portion of the tips that they received to certain other employees. Bussers and hosts as well as bartenders sometimes receive a portion of the tips left for service staff.
However, tip-pooling practices may violate the rights of individual workers in specific situations. Workers paid a more reasonable hourly wage or on a salary basis typically should not be part of the tip pool at a business. Managers and owners, in particular, should not receive tips paid to servers who work on an hourly basis.
Additionally, tips pooling should not require that servers share their compensation with those who do not directly engage with customers. It is inappropriate to require a server to share their tips with the cooks or dishwashers at the restaurant according to current Massachusetts wage rules. Only those who directly provide service to the customers are eligible for inclusion in a tip pooling arrangement.
In scenarios where managers or back-of-house workers receive a portion of a server’s tips, that employee may have experienced illegal wage theft. Initiating a wage and hour lawsuit over inappropriate tip policies could help a worker recoup the money they deserve. Inappropriate tip-pooling practices may lead to wage and hour lawsuits against restaurants.
