Thank you so much to anyone who can offer at least some advice with this issue! I am one of the assistant managers for a medium sized company that operates pizza restaurants in numerous states. I have several problems with my employer that I'd like to ask about -

1. We employ delivery drivers. These drivers are tipped employees who generally make $4.00 or $4.50, which is, of course, below mininum wage. We also pay them $1.00 per delivery in "mileage compensation." I should note here that we don't report or log the driver's tips. Here's the issue - these drivers also clean the entire store after we close AT THEIR TIPPED RATE. In other words they work for 2-3 or even 4 hours at night without the opportunity to make tips, at $4.00 an hour. I spoke to former employees about this, and I discovered that a group of employees sued my employer on this issue and won a few years ago. This practice, however, hasn't changed. What has changed is that now the drivers' check stubs show that the make $5.15 an hour, and a deduction is taken out to account for the difference. I'm not sure, but this deduction may correspond to the amount of mileage compensation we pay them, or it may be the difference between $4.00 and $5.15. Either way I'm pretty sure it's wrong. That compensation is supposed to be for mileage, and it's listed separately on my pre-payroll reporting. On my pre-payroll reports the drivers make $4.00 or $4.50 in hourly wages, and their checks all say $5.15. Obviously this issue is complicated. Is my employer still breaking the law? I'm honestly getting tired of making up explainations about this for the drivers.

2. My employer has also taken to giving inside employees and managers raises in cash, paid every week from the till, rather than raising their reported wages. I know this is wrong. Who do I talk to?

3. I think my employer is altering our Profit/Loss statements so that they don't have to pay the general manager or myself our monthly bonuses. Also, they only pay us these monthly bonuses sporadically, and instead of calculating each month separately, they'll pay us for several months at once, subtracting the months with losses from the profitable months. And on a few of the most profitable months they've withheld the PNL reports altogether. A former GM left because he believed they were funneling profits from our store into stores in other states that are failing. He still hasn't recieved most of his bonuses. Is there anything I can do about this? I asked my Dad and he said that if I sue them they can just present altered reports that show no profits. What can I do?

Thanks to anyone that took the time to read this long series of questions. There are many more problems with this company (no SOP, numerous OSHA violations, etc), and I won't be there much longer. I just want to know what recourse may be available for myself, and for the employees, who are all my friends now. Thanks for your help!

1. "Mileage compensation" as you describe it is taxable wages. That is because it is not an "accountable plan", i.e., the employee does not have to account for his actual expenses, he does not get more money if his expenses are higher than the amount paid, and he does not have to return unpaid amounts. Employees who are "regularly and customarily" tipped at least $30 per month may be paid the subminimum wage (employers utilize the "tip credit"). However, the tips must be reported to the employer no less frequently than monthly, reported as taxable earnings, then deducted from net pay so that they are not paid again by the employer. The fact sheet here addresses the tips issue, and also the rules when an employee works at a tipped and a non-tipped position in the same day.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs15.htm

The "deduction" sounds fishy to me, although I don't understand it fully. It appears the error is that, instead of reporting tips as wages, which is required by IRS regulations, they are deducting, like $1.15 per hour, so the NET pay is $4.00/hour. This is definitely a violation of IRS regs, i.e., not reporting the full taxable wages, as well as DOL regs, i.e., not keeping the proper records to justify paying the "tipped" hourly rate (tip credit).

2. If you're ready to do this, the IRS would be the place to report the fact that unreported wages are being paid. I would note that you would most likely be covered by whistleblower laws, since you are reporting a violation of law to the proper governing authority. If you are fired because of this reporting, it is likely you could consider a wrongful termination suit.

3. It's not the altering of the P&L statements that is affecting you directly, it is the fact that such action is resulting in your bonuses not being paid correctly. Having said that, however, what does the bonus agreement say? You may want to take it to an attorney versed in contract law to see if it rises to the level of a contract and, if so, what your legal recourse is if it is determined that the employer is breaching it.

And, I'll add #4. Get out of there fast!!!!!!! If you are considered a "responsible party" for purposes of the failure to withhold and pay withholding taxes, you could be held liable by the IRS.