[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by mattie405

Anyone know the current laws regarding tipped employees? One of my friends is working in a place where the owner keeps all tips. His feeling is that no one is capable of serving his customers as well as he can......consequently, he pays the staff minimum wage and even tho they wait on the customers they are never given any share of the tips, and the average tip is a nice amount at this little place. Customers are under the impression that the servers receive the tips. I wonder if what he is doing is allowed by law, having not been a waitress for more than 20 years has me wondering if this is legal. I do seem to remember that if the owner paid minimum wage that they could then divide the tips among all employees but that might have changed over the years.
Anyone have any info on current laws? I feel really bad for my friend who has to work at the place because of the current job crisis locally, she also gets to clean up after him, wash the floors etc. I keep hoping every day that she finds another job but until then she needs to keep this one. I tell her he is really lucky that I don't work anymore as I'd probably just go get a job there to make sure his customers knew that he takes the tips they leave for the server..........but then again she said if he sees a customer trying to talk to her he comes running over and makes her leave the table, he doesn't want her speaking to them, she's to serve them without speaking and refer them to him for anything they need or want, even a glass of water, they have to ask him and then she is told to go get it and serve it.
I better stop now, I'm getting myself all nutso over this. So, any info from anyone on this?

Don't know law exactly, but one thing I do know is that all the employees should get together and take a walk down to IRS office in their area and report him for tax evasion.