So, I started working for a Chipotle – style line service food establishment almost two months ago. I was told during the interview that I could expect to make $17 an hour normally and $15 an hour during the slow season after tips. It wasn't until the orientation that I was told the hourly rate was only $8.50 an hour because we were classified as “tipped employees.”
However, I'm fairly certain this position does not qualify as a tipped position and therefore our hourly rate cannot be below $10 an hour. (I live in FL btw.) The reason I think this is because unlike a waiter or something similar we receive tips the same way a barista at Starbucks would. And all the tips are supposedly split between everyone on shift during the time they were earned. My boyfriend works at Starbucks and he told me that he does not qualify as a tipped employee because of that very same tipping system.
On top of that, I was working 25 hours a week and only making about $210 a week. And I KNOW that does not come out to $15 an hour. It's way closer to just the hourly pay. But I can't know for certain as I have not been provided any paystubs and when I asked management about how I can view them I was basically told to go through an app they never told me about before and that the app normally doesn't work and isn't always up to date with all employees. When I asked what to do if the app doesn't work for me I was told that I just wouldn't be able to see my pay stubs then.
And finally, management at my job knows that I'm autistic. When they first found out they were offering ti put me on parking duty and do more sidework so that I don't get overwhelmed working as a line server all the time. The only time anyone from management ever said anything disciplinary towards me was when they said I need to work faster when making sauces for FOH and catering. Since that week they “forgot to schedule me” and since then I've only been getting 1 day a week scheduled. I can't quit cause I don't have anything else lined up right now but they clearly don't want me there. It feels like they're trying to force me out without having to pay me unemployment.