Throwaway acc just in case, but I’m wondering if I have a case to make a complaint to the Department of Labor about the wages I believe are being stolen from myself and my coworkers. Here’s the facts:
- I’m a tipped employee (server).
- Opening servers show up to work an hour to half an hour before the restaurant opens to prep, and these hours seem to be counted as tip credit on our pay stubs. i.e. 5/60 hours spent working before the restaurant opens, but all 60 hours report as $2.13 on our pay stubs.
- In the downtime before and in between tables the expectation is that we are doing sidework the entire time. For example, it’s expected and told that if we don’t get a table until an hour/hours after we come in we are to spend that time cutting vegetables, unpacking boxes, cleaning, and any other sidework we can do to be busy. i.e. managers will know that we have no tables and come prompt us to clean drains and scrub walls.
- Closing servers stay up to an hour after each shift completing tasks, these hours are also reported as being paid $2.13 an hour.
- First tables will often not walk in until up to two hours after open, during which time we’re expected – prompted and told by managing staff – to clean and continue any prep not finished during the opening hours.
I know that the rules concerning servers and sidework are a little muddled – the 80/20 rule and the 30 consecutive minutes rule – but at the very least we should be getting minimum wage for opening and closing, right? I plan on calling my local office soon – in Texas -, but after discussion with a few trustworthy coworkers and reviewing our pay stubs, we definitely aren’t being paid for the hours any of of have spent opening. As far as the hours of continuous sidework we complete during the shift, I am at a loss for how to document those other than employee testimony and photo evidence because I guess photos have time stamps? I have already quit this job, but many of my friends still work there and after much discussion, we’ve discovered that they – and several other former employees – are owed at least the wages for opening.
Any advice is welcome.