New bakery supervisor here. Closing last night, the register was .24¢ short. I was told when I was hired over 4 months ago that shortages come out of tips because the franchise doesn’t cover them, and “It’s not coming out of my pocket,” per the owners. We had a management meeting a month ago and the owners reiterated that rule. I haven’t had it happen/been able to get it in writing until now. I know they will take it out of our credit card tips if we don’t have any in the tip jar.
I know for a fact that is illegal and until I see a written policy from the company, I will not be doing that. I do not feel comfortable taking money from employees, it’s not their responsibility to cover it.
How do I respond to my boss in an appropriate way? I struggle with text communication and really appreciate the help
by loverlane
25 Comments
“That’s illegal and I refuse to participate in knowingly breaking the law.”
Totally illegal. They can terminate you for having a shitty drawer, but they cannot take it from tips.
It’s a quarter. Ask them if they want to lose a ton of money and trouble hiring a new person over less than one quarter.
Regardless, it is not legal for owners to take your tips. Period full stop. They can sanction you for the drawer being short, they can write you up or fire you, but they cannot take the money you’ve earned. You should reach out to your state’s labor board to further clarify this.
Owners like this don’t care about the money, or you. They just want *control*. They will be terrible people to work for. Look for the exit as soon as you can.
Well I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to do that basically everywhere, so you can start there. In any case it’s highly unethical and this person needs to be confronted about it otherwise it’s gonna continue forever. If you don’t think confrontation will go over well, I’m sure an anonymous tip to the labor board would do the trick.
Also a”written policy” from the company doesn’t mean shit if it’s illegal, same as if there were a written policy to murder or anything else.
As a previous manager, you WANT to see small ups and downs. A till that perfectly balances everytime is a till that is being balanced. Perfect books can be, not always, but can be a sign your staff are of not stealing, then defintiely doing sonething to balance it. I’d rather evidence they make make small mistakes than a peace of mind that is false.
When I worked for people like your boss, we have a hidden petty cash we used to balance it. When it was over, into the packet. Under, amd it didn’t come out of our tips.
24 cents. What a douche.
You should start with, “The drawl?! Do you mean ‘drawer,’ shit for brains?”
Push for a written policy until they fuck off
Every grown adult with relevant experience should know it’s illegal. It’s just a quick scam to use on kids
> How do I respond to my boss in an appropriate way?
You quit. That’s how. Respond it’s illegal and start looking for work elsewhere. So much bullshit over $.24. I don’t know how you do it.
heya! r/serverlife mod here
we have a couple mega threads and a litany of answers about this very topic
If this is in America, it’s illegal.
EDIT – actually, it’s a bit more complicated because some states allow employees to be responsible for shortages, and tip money can be used so long as this does not put the employee below minimum wage.
Drawl… it’s a fucking *drawer.*
drawl
/drôl/
intransitive verb
To speak with lengthened or drawn-out vowels.
To utter with lengthened or drawn-out vowels.
“We-e-ell,” the clerk drawled.”
Count the drawer at start of every shift. Count the drawer whenever anyone with drawer access clocks in or out. Count the drawer at the end of every shift. Insist on a witness to each count
The correct answer is because its illegal to do that….
If that’s their policy the NLRB should be your first phone call. Then BOLI
Do overages go into the Tip Pool?
Just tell them you didn’t want to spend 45 minutes recounting and double checking if the amounts were wrong costing them $15 just to save them a fucking quarter.
The Starbucks franchise in a VERY nice boutique hotel use to do this to us. It was ten years ago, and I never knew this was wrong until reading these comments.
>drawl
I pray they get their balls sued off over .24 cents
“Sorry but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. Do you guys normally do this?” And save everything they say lmao
!RemindMe 1 days
Illegal.
Drawl?
You’re texting me on my time off over
24 cents? If my tip money comes up short next shift I’ll take it from the register, heard.
I had an owner that would purposely take money to “test us” to see if we would make up the difference from our tips. After bartending for so many years sometimes it happens so the idea of loosing it from my tips wasn’t new.
The problem was he would pull the money to test us but wouldn’t tell the closing manager he took it so we would get money taken that wasn’t actually missing.
He the owner later got dismissed from
The co owner for embezzlement.
Be really careful about this. In many jurisdictions you are not allowed to require them to pay back the money to balance the drawer. You can fire them, but not make them pay back.
Also, if the drawer is over, would you give them the money (per management, as I know you’re stuck in the middle)