Hey, so I’m a gig worker. I have an agreement with a restaurant owner that they pay my band. We put out a tip jar and folks can also tip us as they enjoy the music while they eat/hang out at the bar.
The owner of the restaurant recently (last few months I think) unbeknownst to me added a line on the bill that says something along the lines of “donation for the music” where people can add an additional charge to their card that’s supposedly supporting the music. This charge does not go to the band. I confronted the owner and was told that they use that line to recoup the cost of hiring the band. Multiple customers have told me that they thought this goes to the band, but I told them that we don’t see it. This feels like wage theft. Are there any courses of action that I can take?
Additional info that might be helpful: this is a gig where I’m hired by the owner over a text to sort out the dates/times. I have a fixed rate to bring in a trio. There is no paperwork for hiring or any of that. This a freelance independent contractor job.
I’m playing a gig there tonight and will try to get a photo of a check for reference and will update either tonight or tomorrow.