Labor Law in Mass. for wait staff?

by **devdutta58** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:10 pm

Worked at a small diner type place. Worked for minimum wage plus tips.
Never signed any contract at all.
Pay day comes my boss DEDUCTS MY TIPS from my pay.
(example minimum pay wage is 8 hour in mass. work 15 hours that would be $120. But if I made say $50 in tips he would deduct them and only pay me $3 hour!!!)

Now he refuses to even pay me that.

He states there is a labor law in Ma. that says all wait staff are paid minimum wage unless you make a certain percentage in tips and then he can deduct tips and pay $3 per hour.
I think this is bunk, as I never signed onto any such thing. In fact, he pays all his workers this way. Isn't that called "under the table"? He's full of ** right? What can I do about it?

by **ahanu** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:11 pm

It's not "wait staff are paid minumum wage", it's ANYBODY must be paid (at least) Minimum wage. Unfortuneately for you, TIPS count toward that Wage! So it doesn't sound like your Boss is doing anything wrong. "Under the table" means that no Taxes etc are withheld from your Pay, and your Boss doesn't report it to the Government. And that's illegal.

by **talbot** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:14 pm

Actually, the minimum wage for waitstaff is $2.63/hour in MA. No employer is required to pay you more than that per hour, but he cannot pay you less. As long as he is paying at least $2.63/hr and reporting it for SS, Med, etc, then you are fine. Also, it is your responsibility to report your tips.

by **jocheved** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:22 pm

It's called tip skimming, and is technically against the law. However, it's poorly-worded and open to interpretation.

There was a lawsuit about it:
http://www.tip20.com/waiters-say-management-takes-big-slices-of-tips/575

by **osbourne** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:27 pm

get a new job

by **bedyw25** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:31 pm

the reason why they pay you 3$ an hour is to take the taxes out on what you make in tips

so how much you claim in tips is prorated to be taken out in taxes

it used to be 2.13 an hour hmm

now if you made 50$ in 15 hours that avg is 3.33 an hour plus your 3 an hour on your hourly making it up to 6.33 an hour

then of course if you don't count the tips in front of them they think you are making more

it also goes by your sales as well

they figure tips as 10% of what you sell off the menu

now as far as legal action is concerned it is your word against his unless you have tangible proof that is what you made in tips

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