Tips and such ( Archived) (7)

Thanks. I answered it. For everyone's info here--this is a for-profit food service business. They can not legally request, ask for, solicit, or in any way imply that tips, any, all or a portion thereof, can be pooled for discretionary charitable use by same employer. This is interpreted as coercion, as I said before. This topic goes much deeper, too, and I didn't know THIS: not only can they not do this, but in a bar, restaurant, etc... if tips are pooled among the staff, which is perfectly legal, there is an exemption here, as well. The owner, even if working, can not take any part of pooled tips. He/she may, however, take tips left specifically for him/her in the case of tips not being pooled. (Studies show that most tipping establishments do NOT pool tips, however, many can and do require tip sharing (this IS legal) of non-serving staff, such as dishwashers and busboys and prep cooks. Get this, too, cooks/chefs cannot be a part of the "pool" if pooling is used, they can, however, take tips specifically given to them personally. Wow. So many policies about tipping.