s10guy_07
09-26-2006, 08:35 PM
Well I know minimum wage is supposed to be like 5.15/hr or something in Texas, but my girlfriend just started working at a new (deleted by moderator) and she is a host only getting paid $4.50/hr and getting like 3% of the sale that the table she sat down. So if she sat down a table of four and they bought 30 dollars worth of food she gets $3 of that. They callit tip share but that isnt really a tip share, they see nothing that goes on the table. She once worked a 13 hours shift and only got like 20 dollars in the "tip share" when it should have been around 60 she told me. Is what they are doing right? Also they dont give her a check they gave her a debit card and just put her money on it, so if she wants money, cash, she has to go to an ATM and withdrawl which costs 1.50 or 2 dollars usually. Just wondering if anyone knows what she can do. She likes her job and doesnt want to leave she is confused and I dont know what to tell her.
Thanks,
:)
Chris
ArmyRetCW3
09-26-2006, 08:43 PM
If the age of the worker is 20 or younger then this link may apply...
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/printpage.asp?REF=whdfs32.htm
Texas709
09-27-2006, 07:38 PM
If your gf makes more than $20 per month in tips, she is considered a "tipped employee". I'd imagine if she participates in a tip pool that she does.
In Texas, employers are required to pay tipped employees at least $2.13 per hour, plus tips. If the total received is less than the federal minimum wage ($5.15/ hour), employees are entitled to have the difference from the employer. They are not entitled by law to any more.
The debit card is an inconvenient method of pay for many employees, but is liked by many who don't have access to bank accounts. Since it is considered, under the Texas Payday Law, being paid "in another form"--not cash or an instrument negotiable for cash at face value--it requires the written agreement of the employee. Your gf likely signed an agreement to this method when she went to work.
If she chooses, she can find another job, she can live with the conditions of employment, she can negotiate something else with the employer, and she can fight her own battles, if she chooses to fight.
