Tip Pooling and Cash Payments
Employees in the service industry work hard for their tips, and in some cases their tips may help them earn a livable wage. When your employer is mandating that you pool your tips or is taking a cut of them, you may have cause for legal action. If you are being paid in cash, your employer may be underpaying you. At Virginia & Ambinder, LLP, we have been serving underpaid and mistreated employees in New York and New Jersey for two decades. We are dedicated to fighting for your rights.
With extensive experience in labor and employment law, our attorneys have represented thousands of workers in a variety of industries. In litigation, we have opposed major corporations, municipalities and even the City of New York.
Our firm has represented workers in federal and state courts in multiple states, including New York, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Ohio.
You can rely on us for aggressive representation in your case. With our contingency fee model, we will not charge you attorney fees unless we obtain a financial recovery for you.
Contact our skilled lawyers for a free initial consultation about tip pooling or cash payments.
Laws on Tip Pooling
While employers can ask wait staff and other employees to share tips with other service staff, they cannot mandate tip pooling under New York labor laws. In addition, under certain laws employees cannot be required to share their tips with other employees who do not customarily receive tips, such as dishwashers or janitors. Employers do this solely to avoid having to pay wages to these workers.
Employers and management staff also may not demand or accept any portion of an employee's tips. According to the Attorney General's Office for the State of New York, a New York employee may receive restitution equal to the wages that he or she should have received plus 25 percent of that amount in liquidated damages if the violation by an employer was willful.
Cash Payments
When it comes to wages paid in cash, we help workers protect their rights against wage and hour violations.
You may have been incorrectly classified as an independent contractor, or your employer may be paying you in cash to avoid the expenses of payroll. There are strict rules set by the courts and the Department of Labor for classifying an employee as an independent contractor and for paying in cash. For instance, even when you are paid in cash the law requires that your employer provide you with a payroll receipt indicating your wage and tax withholdings. If an error has been made, your employer might be liable for withholding taxes and making Social Security payments on your behalf, as well as paying you overtime.
Employers often pay workers in cash to avoid having to pay overtime, pension and medical benefit contributions, withholding taxes, workers' compensation and social security payments on your behalf. When this happens it is the worker who suffers the consequences.
Workers who are paid in cash are often unable to collect social security, receive unemployment benefits, disability benefits and workers' compensation benefits.
If you are working on a government contract for an employer who is paying your wages in cash, we can help you seek payment of unpaid prevailing wages, and for time performing work duties off the clock, such as picking up supplies and putting on equipment.
We are committed to holding employers accountable when they fail to comply with labor laws.
Contact one of our experienced lawyers to discuss your case.
