Restaurant workers often rely on tips to make money. It is common for tipped workers to receive a minimal base wage from the employer and for the remaining compensation to come from customers. These employees have rights under federal and state laws that protect them from wage violations. An Atlanta restaurant and tipped worker wage dispute lawyer could help employees who have been underpaid by their employers.
A conflict usually arises when an employer fails to follow wage laws that protect tip earners. At Feldman Legal Group, we fight for employee’s rights and have experience handling these types of disputes. Contact our wage and hour attorneys today to discuss your claim and learn how we could help recover the compensation you deserve and hold your employer accountable for violating wage laws.
Legal Requirements for Paying Tipped Workers
Tipped employees may receive a low hourly wage from the employer, provided that their tips compensate and bring their hourly earnings to at least the minimum wage. The State of Georgia, which has one of the lowest minimum wage requirements in the United States, allows an employer to pay a tipped employee as low as $2.13 per hour as base pay. The employer must make up the difference if the base pay plus tips does not meet or exceed the federal minimum hourly rate of $7.25. A skilled Atlanta attorney could help restaurant tip workers seek justice for wage disputes.
How Wage Disputes Occur for Restaurant and Tipped Workers
Employers violate tipped workers’ rights in various ways. For example, if an employer in Georgia pays an employee $2.13 per hour, and the employee does not receive enough tips to reach the federal minimum wage, the employer is in violation if they do not pay the difference. A wage dispute may also arise if an employer keeps tips for themselves that were meant for employees.
Another common occurrence of wage violations happens through unlawful tip pooling. Tip pooling takes place when tipped workers must share tips among staff. It is only lawful if the pool is shared with employees who receive tips, such as servers and bartenders. An employer would be in violation if they required employees to share their tips with management, for example.
Workers at a restaurant must sometimes arrive before the beginning of their shift. If an employer requires employees to perform any work before clocking in or after clocking out, that would be unpaid work and violate the workers’ rights. Also, employers are in violation if they deduct expenses from an employee’s pay for charges such as credit card processing fees or uniforms. Lastly, tipped employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a week. Miscalculations of overtime and failing to pay overtime are violations of restaurant workers’ rights, and our Atlanta attorney could help you dispute your tip and wage earnings with your employer.
Contact Our Atlanta Attorneys Today About Restaurant Tip Earner Wage Disputes
If you earn tips at a restaurant and suspect your employer may not be paying you correctly, reach out to our Atlanta restaurant and tipped worker wage dispute lawyer. Mitch Feldman and his team of experienced attorneys could help you in many ways. We review pay stubs and tip records to check for discrepancies or violations of minimum wage laws. We also help you file a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or Georgia’s DOL.
Our law firm takes pride in aggressively representing our clients’ best interests, and we do so in negotiation settlements or in court if necessary. We are not afraid to take your claim to trial. Contact us today for a consultation to discuss your wage dispute.
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