I've been working part-time at a local restaurant/bar chain, and was thinking about quitting anyway, but this has really taken it over the edge. I heard from two separate coworkers that I know and trust that the other day, the boss took a large tip that was put in the jar and used the money to comp part of the meal that a customer was unsatisfied with. That customer had given the tip, since their problem was with the kitchen and not the wait staff (a distinction I was surprised they made, but that's irrelevant). Essentially, he used tip money to save his company the expense of comping a large bill, because he decided that the problem was the fault of the wait staff (which is still very illegal).
This is on top of previous rumors of wage theft, though nothing concrete from what I've been able to dig up, and one confirmed report of him putting many more people on the floor at a time to dilute tips among servers. This was with the explicit goal of pushing servers who had been there for a while I to being frustrated enough to quit. This place has a ridiculous turnover rate and I now see that it is by design.
Should I report this to the state government? Try and confront this guy directly, since I have nothing to lose? Or try to talk to his boss (which unfortunately would be the owner)? Or is there another option I'm not seeing? I don't really have any evidence except for a few witnesses.