Waiter sues TX restaurant over lack of opportunities for tips
A waiter has filed a lawsuit against a Texas restaurant that he claims prevented him from earning tips.
The waiter stated in a court filing that he had to spend a significant amount of time each day on work that did not involve tipping, according to local legal journal The Southeast Texas Record. Tipped workers in most of the U.S., including Texas, receive a lower wage per hour than other employees. In Texas, the difference between the two wages is more than $2 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
While the Fair Labor Standards Act permits 20 percent of tipped employees' time to be spent on side work that does not involve earning tips, any time spent in a non-service capacity beyond that 20 percent must be paid at least at the state's standard minimum wage.
The waiter is seeking payment of his lost wages, including overtime hours and interest on those payments, court and attorney fees and punitive monies from the restaurant.
Using proper employee tracking methods, especially with service employees, leaves no doubt as to how much time waiters and waitresses have to earn tips. Systems like fingerprint time clocks can be used to easily distinguish time spent waiting and time used doing side work.
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