r/antiwork Jan 14 '22 Silver 5 Helpful 16 Wholesome 10

So sorry, I'm broke so I can only pay you $77 for my food. You were great though.

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3.7k

u/hyperbolic_retort Jan 15 '22

Yep. It's on the servers boss if they're not getting a livable wage.

5.2k

u/Quinn0Matic Jan 15 '22 Gold Helpful Wholesome

Tipping should be illegal, and I say that as someone who relies on tips.

779

u/SB6P897 Jan 15 '22

You see more and more fast food places asking for tips. Right now it’s fun and dandy while they get paid minimum or more. But the fast food pay enjoyment gonna change real fast when fast food restaurants get the legal slip to pay less than minimum cuz “tips are income and will justify it”

223

u/zentoast Jan 15 '22

Yeah a while back I used to work at Sonic, and one day corporate decided all the carhops were gonna start getting tip wage. Luckily I was a manager by then, but considering most folks don’t know you should tip at Sonic it was a certain kind of hell for the folks who worked with me.

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u/something6324524 Jan 15 '22

luckly things seem to be going more towards if the company doesn't want to pay for workers they don't get workers in recentt imes.

151

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dianthor Jan 15 '22

As far as I understand, tipped employees are still guaranteed at least minimum wage, no? If the value of their tips is less than the threshold to reach minimum wage the employer is obliged to pay the difference. Does this not occur?

46

u/starfreeek Jan 15 '22

Yes employers are legally required to make up the difference between what the tipped employee makes and the state min wage if it is less that pay period. That being said min wage is way to low in most places.

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u/Usedtabe Jan 15 '22

Legally required and what actually happens are two different things. Many waitstaff have been let go when trying to get their management to do their part.

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u/Super_Nisey Jan 15 '22

Yep when I waitressed I was taught to always put my tips at a fixed amount, regardless if I actually received that much

1

u/SnooPeripherals1595 Jan 15 '22

I am told to claim $0 as far as cash tips at the end of each shift serving tables. Then my manager goes back and adjust my cash tips every night as a certain percentage of my sales. 80% of the time, I don't even make any cash dip so I think it is absolutely insane that they are claiming these tips for me.

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u/Negative_Handoff Jan 15 '22

Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hour, that's all employers are required to pay unless the state has instituted a higher minimum wage for tipped employees(it has to specifically state tipped employees, since that is how the Federal minimum wage law is written, and it was written that way at the insistence of the hospitality industry).

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u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

No, they get paid the tipped minimum + tips, or the state minimum wage. Whichever is higher.

If the tips don’t add up to over the states minimum wage for that pay period, the employer is required to pay the difference.

4

u/PrincessSlutFuck Jan 15 '22

This. When I signed to work as a waitress my tips went towards my wage. If I didn't make minimum wage with the tips, the company filled in the gaps. Required tipping is still fucked up though

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u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

Yup, and minimum sucks, but let’s be correct about what the law is

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u/PeopleBuilder Jan 15 '22

No. Comment above about 2.13 is correct

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u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

No it’s not.

If you don’t get enough tips, your employer has to make it up.

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u/Negative_Handoff Jan 15 '22

Depends on whether or not the state has a their own minimum wage or not...there are still quite a few states that only use the Federal minimum wage as their minimum wage, in which case they only get paid $2.13/hour plus tips, if no tips, then they only make whatever the amount adds up to based on the $2.13/hour. That's why sometimes you see workers posting paycheck stubs with $0.00 take home pay.

2

u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

They would still need to pay up to the 7.25 federal minimum though if they don’t receive enough tips, that’s just how it works.

0

u/Negative_Handoff Jan 15 '22

No, that's how you think it works, but they don't, the Federal minimum wage for tip workers is $2.13/hour, period, the only way that it would have to be topped off by an employer is if a states minimum wage is higher(and in those cases most employers just pay the employees the states minimum wage). That's exactly how the restaurant industry wanted it so they wouldn't have to pay the workers more, and that's how it was written. That was from an in-depth article on how the minimum wage law was crafted by Congress, and as far as that story stated, even when the minimum was increased to todays Federal $7.25/hour, there was no change to tip-based workers, it's still $2.13/hour plus tips.

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u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

2.13 plus tips, unless that does not add up the the normal minimum wage, then it’s whatever will make it 7.25 (or the state minimum).

They may not have raised the 2.13 when the minimum wage raised, but the minimum combined tip wage did increase with it.

The problem with that is that a larger percentage of their income is subsidized by the consumer, but the employee is still guaranteed the real minimum wage for their pay period.

1

u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

My other comment explaining exactly how the minimum wage works for tipped employees:

It’s not called the “minimum combined wage” for nothing.

And the wage is lowered by a “tip credit” which basically uses the tips to pay their wage down until you hit 2.13, but if there’s no tips to use as credit, the wage is whatever will bring the employee to minimum.

1

u/starfreeek Jan 15 '22

Thanks for the posts. So many people replying that have no idea what they are talking about.

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u/Perfect_Line8384 Jan 15 '22

It’s not called the “minimum combined wage” for nothing.

And the wage is lowered by a “tip credit” which basically uses the tips to pay their wage down until you hit 2.13, but if there’s no tips to use as credit, the wage is whatever will bring the employee to minimum.

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u/gorgofdoom Jan 15 '22

‘Hospitality industry’

I think you misspelled corrupt politicians

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u/starfreeek Jan 19 '22

I posted a link to the contest higher up. No one in the country is legally allowed to be paid less than th fed min wage. Examples of company's doing it just means the company is willing to break the law.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-flsa-tipped-employees#:~:text=Tipped%20employees%20are%20those%20who,%2430%20per%20month%20in%20tips.&text=The%20employer%20is%20prohibited%20from,of%20a%20valid%20tip%20pool

2

u/Jetboywasmybaby Jan 15 '22

In California we get regular state minimum wage + tips. But because other states tax the fuck out of tips they drop down the wage to make up for what they make in tips to average the minimum wage

1

u/boxerbumbles77 Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

Tipped workers have a separate minimum wage, in my state it's $3.63 an hour. That means a whole day's work couldn't get a meal at Five Guys

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u/bd01000101 Jan 15 '22

there is still a federal minimum wage, no matter what. yes minimum wage for service is different because of tips but if you don't make minimum wage with tips they are required to pay federal minimum wage

2

u/Usedtabe Jan 15 '22

Y'all love to quote this like it happens as it should. Lots of times they don't pay and just fire anyone who reminds them of the law because muh "right to work" state. And before you even come at it with a legal standpoint I dare you to consider the person not even getting $7.25/hr is going to be able to afford an attorney.

2

u/bd01000101 Jan 15 '22

all of what you are saying is true but i have seen it happen where someone successfully sued over that because there was lots of evidence and years of doing it to people. but again, you're right, it takes quite a bit

0

u/boxerbumbles77 Jan 15 '22

Hey, you're probably right, I'm just basing this off my partner's experience as a server. Could you find some variety of link to the law that specifies federal minimum wage over state tipped minimum wage? I'd find it helpful to have on hand, but I'm not able to do a deep dive right now

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u/bd01000101 Jan 15 '22 Silver

1

u/boxerbumbles77 Jan 15 '22

Thank you so much, gave this silver because I hope more people see this

1

u/Usedtabe Jan 15 '22

It never happens this way. So many people have posted their checks online to prove this is nothing more than bullshit. And they generally don't fight it because retaliation is being fired and blacklisted.

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u/ShrimGods Jan 15 '22

Where TF is this?

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u/boxerbumbles77 Jan 15 '22

My bad. It's actually $3.63, which is loads better, I'll edit my comment.

2

u/ShrimGods Jan 15 '22

No lol, I'm asking where, what state

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u/boxerbumbles77 Jan 15 '22

Rather not totally dox myself, kinda already did, please just google state tipped minimum wages, which was the crux of what I was trying to talk about

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u/ShrimGods Jan 15 '22

That list is depressing. What year is it

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1

u/idriveachickcar Jan 15 '22

Minimum wage is miserably low.

1

u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

As a former waitress who watched this happen to her coworkers, if you work in an "At-Will" state, asking your boss to bump your pay to min. wage in accordance with the law will get you fired immediately.

At-Will employment means you can be let go at any time for any reason and the Employer does not have to disclose it. Usually, though, they would, and they would say "High performing workers get tips, low performing workers do not. Lack of tips is evidence of lack of work. Fired for poor performance."

Something like over 40 states in the US have At-Will employment.

2

u/bernardcat Jan 15 '22
  1. Montana is the only state that is not.

1

u/philrelf Jan 15 '22

I'm guessing it's averaged out of for the week, not on a hourly or daily basis. So some hours they earn a dollar but for the week they are making $25 per hour so employer doesn't make up for those $1 hours.

1

u/GodMeyer here for the memes Jan 15 '22

I don’t know, but I know that I was paid 5$ an hour and got a split on tips when I was a busboy. My tips were never really more than 20$ for a 6 hour shift. That means I was paid 50$ for a 6 hour shift most times, I don’t remember my boss ever making up the difference because that seems much less than minimum wage. I’ve since quit tho.

1

u/robembe Jan 15 '22

In US, NO! Some are paid as low as $2.50/hr

9

u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

You're being sucked into the neocoon mindset of looking at things from the perspective of a consumer instead of the perspective of a worker. Don't fuck over workers because you don't like tipping. Fight for legislation.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '22

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 19 '22

I'm sure you'll get very far in life not caring about other people though. Good luck man.

1

u/Delicious_Payment_22 Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

I used to work at sonic and got paid $5 an hour plus tips, this was back in like in 2010 though. But I normally tip at sonic if they are pleasant, because it can be kind of hard work especially if you work at a busy store. I assumed it was like that everywhere. And then if we forgot or lost our name tag or apron we had to get a new one for like 5-10 dollars, no borrowing one or going back. Plus the carhops do more than just bring your food, we were always required to do something, pick up trash, clean disgusting bathroom, make the little condiment packs. Our minimum wage in TX is only 7.25 has been for years and isn’t going up. It’s definitely not a livable wage, so if nobody tipped me (like I read in the comments) and I only made $5/hr that would be crazy. & good luck trying to get any more money out of them to make up the difference. On top of the fact you can’t tip on a card so if u don’t have cash on you, there’s no way to tip. & We had to pay for our food, uniforms, everything. Im far from rich but my whole life I have always been a giving person and tipped accordingly and to me it always comes back and I get blessed in return. Majority of people i know who are stingy tippers and in general don’t ever seem to prosper. I believe you get what you give. And I can only imagine how much worse it is now with the worker shortage. I was at Burger King the other day and the line was taking forever, I would have left hadn’t I been blocked in, so I get to the front an hour later and I’m pissed off, late to work, starving, lol. I ask the young man what’s taking so long & he said it’s just me here, I look past him and sure enough he was the only one working doing everything. So keep that in mind, times are hard for everyone but we need to show appreciation to those that do choose to show up to these minimum or lower wage jobs, when so many more aren’t.

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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

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3

u/SmallHandsKev Jan 19 '22

You’ve obviously never worked a day in the service industry in your entire life and probably are some high-end middle class trust fund turd.

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u/InquisitiveBoba Jan 15 '22

The only place id tip would be at hooters

-27

u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 15 '22

But right now everyone should tip at sonic because if you don’t you’re just fucking over the workers, not the managers or corporate tools.

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u/DigitalSheikh Jan 15 '22

Butttt, that just perpetuates the cycle- if people tipped, the system would work, and it would become permanent. If they didn’t, all sonic’s workers would leave (they mostly did), and they would raise wages (def also did)

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u/Bauglir1 Jan 15 '22

As someone who’s daughter worked at sonic briefly right before Covid, at that time they had not raised wages. It was still like 3 something an hour plus tips.

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 15 '22

The system did work and it did become permanent but if you want to fuck over individual servers who have bills and families then go ahead and rationalize it however you like.

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u/Subject_6 Jan 15 '22

It is not the customers' job to subsidize managements shitty behavior. This will only encourage them further as they see they can get away with it.

-1

u/BankshotMcG Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

But you probably shouldn't go to Sonic if you bone over the employees to prove a point management will never become aware of.

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u/Subject_6 Jan 15 '22

Oh I won't even if I physically could. Worst thing would be going there and not tipping in that case yes.

-2

u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 15 '22

You’re only fucking over individual servers and if you don’t care then you’re just as bad as the management

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u/Subject_6 Jan 15 '22

And helping management fuck over even more servers... If you don't see this problem then I cannot help.

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

Tip people who work for tips. If you want to fix it then fix it through legislation. Not by making a less than minimum wage worker miss paying their phone bill.

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u/Dahnlen Jan 15 '22

No, the workers need to talk to a lawyer.

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 15 '22

No you need to not be a douche

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u/Tiresiasksksk Jan 15 '22

Victim mindset much?

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

Tip people who work for tips. If you want to fix it then fix it through legislation. Not by making a less than minimum wage worker miss paying their phone bill.

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u/Dahnlen Jan 15 '22

If everyone starts tipping at sonic they will say it works this way

0

u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

It does work this way

0

u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

Tip people who work for tips. If you want to fix it then fix it through legislation. Not by making a less than minimum wage worker miss paying their phone bill.

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u/iloveartichokes Jan 15 '22

Nope. Workers should either start a union or quit.

Other jobs don't start asking for tips if their boss reduces their pay. They ask for more money or they quit.

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u/TequilaAndJazz Jan 17 '22

Tip people who work for tips. If you want to fix it then fix it through legislation. Not by making a less than minimum wage worker miss paying their phone bill.

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u/IndyAndyJones7 Jan 15 '22

But you do?

0

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '22

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3

u/IndyAndyJones7 Jan 16 '22

No one should tip at Sonic.

That wasn't you making a decision for yourself. That was a statement dictating the behavior of everyone.

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u/AnonymousPineapple5 Jan 15 '22

TIL I’ve been an asshole every time I’ve ever been to Sonic

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u/MarkTNT Jan 15 '22

I'd say Sonic have been assholes every time you've been there, you already pay for the products, they should be paying their own staffs wages.

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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I don’t think that’s the intended take away

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u/AnonymousPineapple5 Jan 15 '22

No, it’s all about me.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '22

And that’s fair

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u/karmannsport Jan 15 '22

No you haven’t. You don’t fucking tip at fast food places. Tipping culture is so fucking out of hand in this country it’s ridiculous. I’m already paying for a service. I shouldn’t be expected to give extra because its your actual income. Tipping is supposed to be because “Damn! You REALLY went above and beyond what was expected!” If what I’m paying for the service isn’t enough for the service…then the service provider should be charging what the service is worth. I fucking hate tip culture in the US.

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u/aerowtf Jan 15 '22

fuck that. If i’m still paying $10 for a shitty burger, i’m not tipping a fast food server. Lower your prices then. sheesh. Never even thought of tipping a sonic employee tf

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I give them a dollar usually cause i feel bad when i heard they are on the 2.13 an hour or whatever but you are right. Their prices are already ridiculous for freezer food or a cheeseburger they should be able to pay staff

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u/ThighMommy Jan 15 '22

That... shouldn't matter. Unless they were making > minimum wage beforehand, then they're getting screwed

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u/Every-holes-a-goal Jan 15 '22

Even then, fuck minimum wage. Lovable wage to actually enjoy life a little should be the lowest

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u/zentoast Jan 15 '22

“Shouldn’t” is definitely the operative word here

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u/bea_corrine Jan 15 '22

I didn't know you were supposed to tip at Sonic until I started working there. Thank goodness we got normal minimum wage at least. I would usually only make like $10 in tips after a 5-hour shift.

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u/karmannsport Jan 15 '22

You’re not. Sonic are the assholes here. They just tried to fluff their minimum wage service job by saying, “oh but you make tips as well!” This is why you only got $10/shift. Not to be cynical but even for that $10, you were probably very pleasant and good at your job and/or attractive. I had never known this about sonic. As good as their tots are, they can fuck right off.

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u/newishdm Jan 15 '22

Oh, so all of the employees got a minimum wage anyway even though no tips are being received? Because that’s literally how a tipped minimum wage works.

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u/aerowtf Jan 15 '22

yea…? it could’ve been that they were making $9/hr and then went to tip wage, so they end up making less, and it’s basically impossible to ever make more than minimum wage if nobody ever tips?

0

u/Ariquitaun Jan 15 '22

"should"? Why should anyone tip to make up for bad wages? Tipping is at the customer's discretion.

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u/ApprehensiveChange47 Jan 15 '22

I worked there when that switch happened! Turns out (at the time at least) it was only the corporate locations. Locations that were a franchise didn't change to that. This was back in like, 2009ish though, so things may have changed.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

And that’s just another reason why unions are great

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u/Cloberella Jan 15 '22

When was this? Because one day about two years ago every single worker at the Sonic in my town walked out with no notice, didn't even lock up or shut down, just abandoned the building for the day.

1

u/sc00ney Jan 15 '22

I've not heard of tip wage before so sorry if this is a stupid question, but is it the employer saying your tips will pay as much of a proportion of your legal minimum wage as possible, and then if it doesn't hit that I'll make up the rest? That is fucking insane.

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u/Ohlulu1093 Jan 15 '22

You’re supposed to tip at sonic?!? Omg I feel horrible now I live in an area that doesn’t have sonic and I randomly saw one last week and got food. I gave the kid who was there some random cash I had since he had to skate but I didn’t realize he was dependent on it I would have given more. I feel so bad now! I’ve literally only been to sonic twice and had absolutely no clue!

1

u/Camarokerie Jan 15 '22

Your supposed to tip at Sonic?

1

u/MelbourneBanana Jan 15 '22

As in “the hedgehog?”

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

I was manager at sonic too. Probably one of the worst fast food jobs I've have ever worked in my life.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22

No wonder I get the stink eye when I don’t tip. Who carries cash anymore?

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u/Psychological-Joke22 Jan 15 '22

I bet that made the shareholders happy