Overtime Attorney for Restaurant Workers
If your employer is not paying you your proper wages or overtime, contact restaurant overtime lawyer, Travis Hedgpeth, today for a free case evaluation.
A Professional Restaurant Lawyer Fighting For Your Unpaid Overtime
Restaurant workers are among the employees facing the highest risk of overtime and wage theft, especially the tipped employees. The payroll for tipped restaurant workers is slightly different compared to the payrolls of workers in other professions. Things can get a little confusing, but you can reach out to The Hedgpeth Law Firm, PC and request a free consultation to understand the overtime state and federal laws.
Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay
If you work more than 40 hours in a week, the FLSA allows you to demand compensation for the extra hours. An employer is required to pay eligible tipped and non-tipped workers at a rate of 1.5 times their regular hourly wages.
However, the federal minimum hourly wage for tipped restaurant workers is $2.13 per hour instead of $7.25. Employers are legally allowed to claim up to $5.12 as a tip credit from workers earning at least $30 in tips every month.
There is one condition attached to the tip credit provision, though. If the total amount of tips earned plus direct cash wage is below $7.25 per hour, the employer must pay the balance to meet the minimum wage rate. The minimum wage might be higher in some states.
Calculating overtime pay for tipped employees is also a little different. Check out an example on this page.
Tip Pool Violations
If a restaurant worker is required to participate in a tip pool, the FLSA states that the tips be shared only among tipped employees. Restaurant workers who receive tips include bartenders, waiters, waitresses, servers, and counter attendants.
Restaurant owners, managers, cooks, chefs, dishwashers, and other non-tipped workers cannot claim a portion of the tips. Otherwise, that would be considered an invalid tip pool.
Tipped restaurant workers can perform non-tipped work, but the Department of Labor sets a limit. If the total amount of time spent on non-tipped work is over 20% of the workweek hours, an employee gets compensated at $7.25 for the non-tipped work hours. A tip credit affects the remaining hours.
For a free legal consultation with Travis Hedgpeth, call (281) 572-0727.
Consult an Overtime Lawyer
If you are working in the restaurant industry and your employer does not operate by the state and federal overtime regulations, contact The Hedgpeth Law Firm, PC to determine if you have a claim. Call (281) 572-0727 to request a free consultation with an experienced and trusted Texas overtime lawyer today.
