hello! apologies for any errors or overall messiness – i am on my phone and currently on shift, but i just found out about something that seems very illegal to me.
i work at a cafe in california. this cafe pools tips and gives 20% to the kitchen staff and the other 80% to front of house. one of my chefs did not receive ANY of her tips for last week because of two instances – the first being that she was 6 minutes late to her shift (she was called in on her day off for that particular shift) and the second being that she was in a car accident and her car was left unusable, so she was told not to come in the next day and they would find someone to cover her. the head chef, who distributes the kitchen tips, decided to withhold her tips for the entire week because of this. the owner stands by the head chef’s decision.
is this legal? i don’t believe we sign any agreements pertaining the tip system, though it could be different for back of house. personally i think he was just being a dick because he can but i don’t want him (or the owner) to get away with this if it’s illegal. thanks!!