TOLEDO TIPPED EMPLOYEES ATTORNEY

Tipped employees rely on customers for part of their income. According to Simple, the average tip rate in Ohio for restaurants, bars, and coffee shops is 14.59 percent. That means if someone spends $10 on a lunch, the average tip left is $1.46 for an Ohio tipped employee. Since tips are part of a service employee’s paycheck, they have different wage standards. According to Ohio’s Department of Commerce, the minimum wage for tipped employees is $4.40 per hour plus tips. A person can only be classified as a tipped employee if they are regularly making at least $30 per month in tips, otherwise they must be paid the standard minimum wage of $8.80 per hour. Employers can avoid paying proper wages by misclassifying an employee as a tipped employee even when they do not make the $30 per month minimum in tips. Other ways an employee can take advantage of the system is by operating an illegal tip pool or by failing to pay a worker for overtime when their work hours exceed 40 hours in one work week. If you suspect your employer is not compensating you properly, it is time to contact the Toledo tipped employees attorneys at Coffman Legal, LLC.

Ways Employers Avoid Paying Tipped Employees

If a tipped employee works 20 hours a week for an entire month and only earns the minimum $30 per month in tips, that employee would only be making $4.78 per hour. In situations like this, the employer must increase the employee’s hourly wages in order to meet Ohio’s $8.80 per hour minimum wage. In addition, employers can create further damage by engaging in other illegal behaviors such as:

• Paying a tipped employee only in tips and not providing an hourly wage;
• Failing to pay overtime for over 40 hours of work in a one week period;
• Distributing the tip pool funds to non-tipped employees;
• Applying the calculated overtime based on the tip credit wage instead of the hourly wage in your employment contract;
• Applying the wrong tip credit;
• Taking deductions away from wages for issues that customers create such as not paying for their meal;
• Increasing non-tipped duties, such as cleaning tables or kitchen time, to over 20 percent of a tipped employee’s time at work. For anything above 20 percent, the employee must be paid Ohio’s standard minimum wage of $8.80 per hour.

Contact a Toledo Tipped Employee Attorney

Employers are required to fairly compensate tipped workers. This means using legal tip pools and ensuring tipped employees are making at least Ohio’s minimum wage standard of $8.80 when tips are included in their wages. If you believe your employer has violated the laws regarding your wages, it is time to contact a Toledo tipped employee attorney at Coffman Legal, LLC. We can help determine what errors your boss may be making and hold them accountable so that you are paid for missing past wages and attorney’s fees. Contact us today at 614-949-1181 to schedule a free consultation.