I work at a major pizza franchise in california as a delivery driver. Our store has a tip bucket up front like any establishment. I have worked here going on 2 years now and have not once questioned the tip policy here: drivers keep all of their tips from deliveries, and only the in-store workers get shares from the bucket.
As I said, I have never questioned this model until today, when my manager pulled me aside to ask for $1.15 that a carry-out customer gave to me directly. This didn’t feel legal. I looked into it, and while it is legal for my manager to ask me to add my tip to the pool, it is ILLEGAL for her or any other manager to take any from the pool. ALL of the in-store workers who split the pool hold the “manager” title and they give nothing to the drivers. Their justification is that they don’t take any of our delivery tips.
Does anyone know if california labor law has special exceptions for delivery drivers?