Los Angeles, CA: Cheryl and her co-workers at the dog grooming salon suspected some time ago that their boss was taking a good chunk of their tips, but after Cheryl heard about the Starbucks settlement (the company was ordered to pay back more than $100 million to California baristas), she realized her boss was ripping them off. California labor law prohibits managers and supervisors from sharing in employee tips.
"Last month I groomed dogs for two clients who I know leave big tips but I didn't see a cent," says Cheryl. "I don't see the tips??"the boss is in charge of all the payments so he can lie to us and do whatever he wants. Last week the same clients came back and I groomed their dogs again. This time, however, the boss had gone out and I saw their files; the manager helped me find them. (I just called a few lawyers to see if it is legal for us to look at the clients' payments??"I haven't got answer yet).
"We are supposed to get those tips within the next pay period. Period. It is not up to the owner to decide when and how to distribute those funds."
"Anyway, my suspicions were confirmed. Both clients paid their bills with two separate payments, on the same credit cards: one payment was the amount of grooming and the second payment was the tip of $40. Twenty dollars was my tip and the other half should have gone to the manager, who did half the grooming with me. And we aren't the only ones who are getting cheated. Unfortunately, my manager is afraid to confront the owner.
"Last Christmas the boss kept our tips for two months and gave them to us at his own discretion as a bonus. 'That's your bonus, money I have been collecting out of the tips, from credit cards and cash,' he said. He decided, by how many hours we worked, how much money we would get. I got $235, which is likely a lot less than I am owed.
"He divided the tips between five of us: I know that one co-worker got over $300??"he told me so, and he suspected all along that the owner was stealing our tips; now we all believe that he is also pocketing some of our tip money.
"Granted, some people don't tip at all and others are very generous; it's a real crapshoot. But the amount of money he finally gave me isn't my complaint. We are supposed to get those tips within the next pay period. Period. It is not up to the owner to decide when and how to distribute those funds.
"I have decided that I want to let him know he has violated the law. He has to keep an accurate record of every tip given to every groomer. I called the California labor board for advice and they said I need to have records regarding how much I didn't get.
"I am going to keep records of every dog I groom and client phone numbers and I will ask the boss every day how that person paid and what tip they paid. After a few months, when I have sufficient information, I will take action.
"A previous employee already tried to sue him. She was abusive and volatile to us and everybody asked the boss to fire her, listing all the reasons why. I said I would quit if he didn't fire her. I quit??"she was a danger and a liability to the business. Two weeks later she faked an injury and they had to pay workers' compensation. Then she tried to sue the owner for tips she didn't get. She wasn't smart and didn't keep records: the judge threw her case out: she tried to sue for $7,000. But the owner was sweating bullets and we couldn't figure out why??"that's when we clued in! (And I got my job back.) He was so sick from stress and we couldn't understand why he was so worried.
"I'm a tough cookie; everybody who was a good groomer has quit but I am going to hang in here and document the evidence so I will have some recourse. And I want people to know what is happening and that it is illegal to take tip money."
The Starbucks lawsuit focused on a section of California Labor Code regarding the payment of tips to employees and the practice of tip pooling. Labor Code Section 351 says, "No employer or agent shall collect, take or receive any gratuity or a part thereof that is paid, given to or left for an employee by a patron," and Labor Code Section 350 defines "agent" as "every person other than the employer having the authority to hire or discharge any employee or supervise, direct or control the acts of employees."