So, at this new restaurant job my employer doesn't pay his employees the tips he gets credited on from our Toast ordering app. Y'know, the screen+screen facing the customer and always asks if you want to tip by default bullshit that is everywhere.
To my understanding this is illegal? Even if you're getting payed minimum wage or more. He pays a dollar or so over minimum wage. Something like tip pooling would be necessary (or just stop accepting tips via the app). Even cash tips handed to an employee is put in the register and taken. It's one of those dumpy, “All the employees do all the things” fast-casual restaurants.
I tried explaining this to the other two workers tonight after asking where the measly few bucks in cash tips went. One got defensive for some reason or tried to disprove what my understanding was (pretty sure it's just flatly wage theft no matter which was you slice it) by saying the reason we get payed what we do is because he takes those tips. I think they get payed a bit more tough. One, sounding like he slipped said, “that's why we make 18…er 17 dollars an hour”.
In my last conversation with the owner finalizing my schedule, he quote, “…hasn't set up his time clock system yet” but has Toast (which already will do it for you). Place has been open for a year and a half. This has been a pretty shit place to work so far — there's many other things I could get into (food handling/sanitization stuff) in my short 2 months there, but not now.
Am I wrong on any of this? Am I missing details on how this works?