TIPPED EMPLOYEES
Working as a tipped employee can be very lucrative, depending on your industry. But working as a tipped employee can also be confusing – do you know how much you’re entitled to in wages? Do wage and hour laws apply to you? If you don’t make at least the minimum wage in tips, is your employer breaking the law? At the law office of Coffman Legal, LLC, we know that you may have a lot of questions about your rights. Consider the following information about laws for tipped employees, and call our Youngstown tipped employees attorneys directly if you need help ensuring that your rights are upheld.
As defined by the United States Department of Labor (DOL), a tipped employee is one that engages in an occupation where they regularly receive at least $30 per month in tips. Under federal law, the employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages; however, that does not mean that a tipped employee will only make this amount overall. If the combination of the hourly wages paid by the employer and the tips earned by the employee do not total to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, then the employer must make up the difference. That’s the federal law. The law in Ohio is a little bit different. The minimum wage in Ohio $8.80 an hour for 2021. What’s more, the minimum wage for tipped employees in our state is $4.40 an hour plus tips. This means that an employer must pay a tipped employee a minimum wage of at least $4.40 per hour and, if the combination of the direct wage and the tips do not equate to at least $8.80 an hour, the employer must make the difference.
Another question that many employees often have is in regards to tip pooling – the practice of all tipped employees being required to chip in a portion of their tips, and then having these tips divided out amongst everyone. While this may seem unfair in certain circumstances, it is perfectly legal, and you cannot bring a claim against your employer for forcing you to pool your tips unless tip pooling results in you making less than the minimum wage or the amount that you are required to pay into the pool is more than is customary and normal.
At the law office of Coffman Legal, LLC, we know that you may have questions about your rights related to tip pooling, the minimum wage as a tipped employee, and perhaps wage and overtime laws, too. Please feel free to reach out to our Youngstown tipped employees lawyers directly for the legal help that you need. It is against the law for your employer to retaliate against you for bringing forth a wage and hour complaint, and our lawyers can protect your confidentiality. Reach us today for a free consultation.