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Back in December, we reported on the Trump administration's proposed changes to tip-pooling regulations that would allow employers to pocket servers' tips as long as the employees continue to make minimum wage. That's right: Employers could take servers' tips and just dole out the minimum wage. But wait, it gets worse!
Turns out, the Department Of Labor knew how crappy this would make life for restaurant employees. This Bloomberg Law article, citing sources within the agency, reveals that the Department Of Labor knowingly buried its own data that showed restaurant workers would lose billions of dollars in gratuities under the new proposal.
Source: https://thetakeout.com/proposed-tip-pooling-law-is-so-bad-for-workers-the-gove-1822664111
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @04:58PM (1 child)
"Why should it be illegal for an employer to have any tip policy they please?"
Fine, so long as it is absolutely clear what that policy is and waiters are both allowed and required to explain the tipping policy when you sit down. Because I'm sure if people are told "Good evening sir, typically a tip of 20% is expected. Additionally the owner pockets all the tips and just pays us minimum wage." you'll see far fewer actual tips being left. Policies like that would normally never be advertised, and I wouldn't be surprised if owners would fire any waiter/waitress revealing it to customers.
I expect tips I do leave to be retained by the waiter or pooled among the staff. If the owner is stealing it (Let's not mince words. That's exactly what's happening.) then you had better believe I won't be bothering to leave a tip, and the owner would be lucky if I even step foot in the restaurant if any pressure whatsoever is made to give a tip in those situations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @05:45PM
and that's called theft by fraud and is actually in the legitimate purview of government to prosecute.