Who tips at a fast food restaurant is my question?

Print out a copy of the law, write “you’re being watched” on it and wrap it in a dollar bill and have a friend go in for a meal and drop it into the tip jar.

I frequently call in a to-go order at the locally owned Greek restaurant. When I go to pick it up and pay with my card, the employee working the cash register tells me "just hit the green key when it asks you for a tip to skip that part, because all of the credit card tips go to the owner and not us." At least he is being honest about it. And I stiff the owner every time.

Just my 2 cents but it doesn't sound like a place I would want my daughter working at.

Sure - you could pursue different options on dealing with the tips issue.

But after the smoke clears - she'd still be working at a place run by some yahoo - or yahoos.

You don't want that. She doesn't want that. We don't want that.

Just my 2 cents - but she should start looking for a new job - and obviously don't quit where she is now, until she gets the new one.

I do. Not at Jack-in-the-Box FF or KFC, but any local joint where the people have to make up and box up a meal or 3, I tip hoping that the kitchen gets a sniff. Pizza take out is on the borderline. Subway I tip. They work hard, are expected to make 15 sandwiches per hour and have to listen to all the customer BS while just trying to make minimum wage.

The difference between someone walking my order over to the table vs. handing it to me over the counter is no difference. That's not full service dine in I'm referring to.

I am shocked to hear a food establishment run by a person of middle eastern or greek descent is not entirely upstanding.

Get your daughter away from that place.

I don't.

Is the daughter being paid as a waitress, ie a lower hourly wage that includes tips. Or paid as a counter worker, ie a higher wage that does not include any tips. Cooks do not usually receive tips at least they didn't in any of the restaurants I worked at in college.

If she is being paid as a counter worker the tip jar is a rip off of the customer.

I do at local takeout places that I frequent and treat me right. Sometimes a $5 tip for the $5 lunch special. Most are family owned and the tips usually come back to me 10 fold. Funny how that works...

Been on the road.. Appreciate the responses. She will be looking for a new job at the end of the school year. She's been there just a few months and is the "senior" person. That speaks volumes right there. Too bad, actually pretty good food. CA law is clear, tips belong to employees, and wages cannot be augmented with tips, eg; lower hourly wage + tips to equal minimum wage

This is a huge teaching moment for her to do the right thing. not just move on. I'd like to share my brief story, at the same age............................in 1976.

I wanted to work on cars / trucks at age 16 to start my career. At that time no one would hire me in a automotive garage because of my age. They would only offer me to sweep floors or pump gas.......................which was not for me.

So about this time of year, I applied to a local agricultural International / Cub Cadet dealership and was hired on the spot part-time to be their small 'engine mechanic' at "X" per hour while in school.

When Summer started and I could work full time, the hours worked Mon-Fri equaled 45 and an additional 5 hours on Saturdays; which most everyone did work.

When I received my first paycheck, it was way short. I'm looking and they only paid me 5 hrs overtime instead of 10. So the old guy working next to me saw I was upset and asked what was the problem? I said they shorted me 5 hours of over time.

He said " No that's right, we only get overtime if we work Saturday's"....................................... ........... I said that's not right, any time over 40 in 1 week is overtime. He just looked at me....puzzled.

So I march into the lady's office that does the books to announce they've made a mistake. She looks up, smiles and asks what's wrong? I said I've been shorted 5 hours of overtime, that I worked 50 hours last week and they owe me 5 hour additional overtime pay. She quits smiling and looks down and told me to talk to the 'boss'.

Boss says if I don't like it I can leave. I said it's not a question if I don't like something or not, you owe me 5 hours of overtime. He said either get back to work or get on down the road away from here...........

I did continue to work as I needed the money, but was p****d and decided I would report them to the Virginia Labor board once I secured another job.

Later in the Summer, I scored a job at the John Deere dealer for $2.00 more per hour, it was also much closer to my school and as soon as I started I called the labor board, gave them the info off of my (former) pay stubs, all of which I had saved.

I know they did an investigation as they later called me to follow up.

Point is: It was a huge teaching event for me, I responded calmly as a man, not reacted to threats of firing me. Also I'm certain that EVERYONE there was being cheated the same way but most of them were uneducated and needed to provide for their families.

I don't know the end result but am pretty sure because I stuck it out and did the right thing in the right time, that crap ended and those people were paid fairly. I never told anyone what was going on or complained. It wasn't until years later I told my dad.

That lesson has stuck with me to this day.

If there ever was a time to be seeking employment, that time is now. Your daughter should quit and find a better job. I take it you're in Oxnard or Ventura, lots of opportunities there.

As above, have the new gig lined up prior to becoming the squeaky wheel

Ok so looks like everybody agrees about the questionable morality,

but what's the LAW?

Remember, it's a fast-food style place with a tip jar, not a full service restaurant.

I'm curious if anyone knows the actual law.

Back a page

I do if it’s the type of place where you order at a register and they bring the food to your table. Not 15% but a few bucks.

McDonalds? Nope. But I don’t eat at those types of places so....

oops thank you SmileWavy

I do but "Tip" is a relative term.

When I do the Dunkin' Donuts/SB/McD breakfast run (only fast food I eat) I round up to the nearest dollar and add one more.

Life is too short not to give a buck and a quarter to a person working the window.

my bet is this is not the full story. There are many ways to skirt the rules and seldom its only one.
For example I bet this work is "under the table". That means she was never an employee on the books. She makes a higher wage per hour and they avoid laws/taxes. In this way she really is not due tips since she is not really an employee.

if you report them then they tell you to step from behind the counter because you were never an employee, plus you are not paid if you get injured. You get paid every 2 weeks so they always hold back pay if you complain for some reason.

Places like to setup rules to make their workforce compliant, to remove options for them. First mistake was to accept a job under the table because it never gets better from there.

Second that!