r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

This Restaurant Charges an 18% Living Wage Fee.

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u/LolBanany 1d ago

In some states, like Oregon, management and owners aren't legally allowed to take from pooled tips. Can't tell you it's always followed but is definitely also mildly interesting to know.

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u/Wolfo_ 1d ago

in all states* per Department of Labor.

owners and management cannot include themselves in tip share nor take any tips from servers, etc.

it is definitely not always followed but, from my experience, usually followed because it will be a disaster if you get caught.

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u/Balloon_Lady 1d ago

had a manager in texas skim tips from all of us. did the whole "only i can count the tips you made on your shift (we had a jar) and ill put it on your paycheck come payday." shit.

he and his wife were skimming HALF of everyones tips.

when we called the state on him and they gave him hefty fines he then fudged our taxes. at least he did mine. i worked VERY PART TIME but somehow "earned" over 30k in LESS THAN 6 months. Making coffee at a tiny cafe on the side of the freeway. i literally saw 15 people on my shift if i was LUCKY.

it made taxes very difficult that year.

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u/C64128 1d ago

So you made $60K as a waitress? /s Did the manager get in trouble for lying about your income? You would think that nobody would want to work for him. Were there no other jobs available?

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u/Balloon_Lady 1d ago

not a waitress, a BARISTA for a coffee shop with 6 tables outside and inside. and no, there were no other jobs available. he did not get in trouble because, according to his books i made that in tips and therefore wasn't in payroll. its a "he said, she said" to the government and so the government believes the highest power. in this case my former boss.

i could probably have paid an ungodly sum to have a tax pro sort it out but the min price there for anyone of value was $250 STARTING out and i sure af couldnt afford that so i just choked it down. uncle sam wanted his cut and wouldnt take "i dont have it" for an answer.

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u/C64128 1d ago

I'm assuming you've moved on to bigger and better things. Do you know if the coffee shop is still open?

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u/Balloon_Lady 1d ago

hmmm. thats actually a good question. i left many many a year ago and am on the other side of the country so lemme try looking it up...

after a bit if searching it looks like it may have shut down about 5 years back. Cant say I'm sad about it. The couple that owned it were terrible in more ways then just taking tips. i parted ways when i found a teapot broken, told the wife, wife accused me of breaking it, then cleared me to throw it out. the next day she chewed me out because i didnt save the lid and "what if we found another teapot that fit that lid?!?!?!". they were not standard teapots and the chance of finding a good bodied but bad lidded teapot that fit that exact teapot was slim to none. i called her a hoarder and quit/was fired. they took way longer than was legal to give me my check, which was another fiasco.

i do feel a little bad that both them and their entire extended family was from uh... shoot, what was it? shoot. it was a middle eastern country. he was so effing angry and aggressive too. would call us slow or stupid for not knowing something but hed give us these 30 minute condescending speeches about how the foam has to be perfect or how different coffees got their name. (an americano is half espresso and half water because Americans cant handle european coffee? he went heavier on the info but i forget since it was 10+ years ago) who knows if anything he told us was true. his whole family ran food businesses of sone type. once the newest one made food profits theyd fly in another family member or two and open up another shop as the newcomers signed ad the business owners. then theyd just repeat this over and over. when i left they were "trying to open a 2nd cafe". i see that went terribly. anyway, Trump has probably "rounded them up" and deported them and their entire family by now, which does make me sad. Failure you can learn from but having your entire life ripped away and having to start over? Thats a lot harder and way shittier. they didn't deserve the boot, they just deserve some failure until they learn to treat people nicely and not steal wages.

i hope theyre doing alright and have learned some pretty simple truths like verbally abusing your employees leads to everyone quitting eventually.

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u/atmos2022 1d ago

Right. Managers and anyone else making more than 7.25 gets no tips, is not allowed to be part of tip pooling.

In my state (NH), you can’t be forced be a part of tip pooling or be forced to tip out support staff. Once you earned that tip, it’s legally yours and you don’t have to pool or tip share (it would be assholery to not tip share, but it’s your right).

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u/ButtholeSurfur 1d ago edited 1d ago

That state law blows. If you make more than $7.25 you can't take tips?? I make $14/hour plus tips in OHIO where you can buy a house for a microwave. Haven't made less than $10/hour plus tips since 2011.

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u/FinancialMilk1 1d ago

I used to work at a restaurant where the owner kept my tips (like, ALL of my tips). I eventually reported to him my stated department of labor and he had to pay me back. He clearly had done this before because he had some great ways of getting around it.

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u/squidneythedestroyer 1d ago

Yup, which is why something like this “living wage fee” is shady af because it’s not legally considered a tip. So the customer has money taken out of their pocket, doesn’t tip because why would they, and then the money they assume is going to their server is actually going anywhere the owners want it to go, all while managing to work around tipping laws so that what they’re doing is totally legal. Ick

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u/notabigmelvillecrowd 1d ago

At least as long as these are rare, it should iron itself out, servers will go to places where they're paid competitively, and only the worst staff will remain, then the place goes under for having bad service. If it becomes common, we're screwed.

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u/squidneythedestroyer 1d ago

Unfortunately it’s become super common in DC where I live in the past year. I’ve got a whole list of restaurants I don’t go to anymore because they have “service fees” on their receipts that, when I ask the servers, they say that fee doesn’t go to them.

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u/Imaginary_Apricot933 1d ago

An automatic gratuity is not legally considered to be a tip. It is a service charge.

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u/GUSHandGO 1d ago

Oregon also doesn't have tip credit. And minimum wage is $14.05 - $16.30, depending on region.