LEGAL TO PAY 2% FOR CREDIT CARD FEE????

I don’t think so. It’s definitely not legal to charge a customers a credit card fee but lots of places do it. It’s called Price Gouging, you may want to bring that term up to your boss. I used to work at a place that strictly enforced that, until a customer wrote on his credit card slip, “Price Gouging please remove” and circled the charge. Next time I worked, I was informed we no longer charged the credit card fee. If it’s illegal to charge the customer, it’s probably illegal to charge you too.

It is definitely illegal. But don’t bother telling the manager or the owner—that’ll just be a one way ticket out the door. Call BOLI’s wage and hour division. If this has been done for awhile, you also might want to consider a class action suit.

It is not definitely illegal at all. Legal in every state under state law except for CA and CO so long as the calculations are done accurately. Federal Fair Labor Standards act explicitly permits it.

Try again. I successfully sued a former employer who said it was legal and did it. Eventually they eliminated the policy, but we prevailed in a lawsuit. I only worked there for 6 months and my share of the settlement, after legal fees and taxes was well over $4K.

If such activities are definitely illegal and universally accepted/used in places of business, why doesn’t anyone call them out on it? Not directly….contact the proper authorities, if this practice is of a great concern.

How long ago was that zumpie? Could the laws have changed because I was told was legal by more than one source?! I know for a fact that Holly Hart at OWT and also Cadillac Cafe use this practice.

Because, as I said, banned in CA and CO, and there are finer points such as income and moinimum wage thresholds however ………

“The Fair Labor Standards Act permits an employer to deduct the processing fee from an employee’s tip as long as the deduction does not put the employee’s pay below the minimum wage.”

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_7_42/ai_n24321216/

Is this similar to the justification of some (and I am specifically thinking of one particular local “international food” chain) miserly owners not giving their employees the tips paid on take-out orders paid by credit card? A way to absorb the fee ratio?

Not cool… legal or illegal… just not cool.

Holly Hart routinely violates every possible labor standard she can get away with, so I wouldn’t exactly rely on her for valid information. Also the article clearly says “some states such as CO and CA”. That means it isn’t illegal exclusively in those two states. It IS entirely illegal in NYS and from what I understand illegal in Oregon.

If you notice the states where the employer has prevailed are anti-labor, red states (like Texas) consider that as well.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.pdf

there’s nothing in the boli codes about it, so i’m going to guess that it’s an issue that, at the very least, resides in a grey area.

by the same token, there’s generally a lot of space between what’s “legal” and what’s “ethical”. if you’re a business owner and you’re essentially renting your servers the right to process credit card transactions, chances are you’re a snake. but by the same token, i’d imagine that going cash-only wouldn’t do wonders for customer relations. it’s sort of a devils bargain if you own a small restaurant; but then again, who ever accused credit card companies of being anything other than tools of the devil?

It doesn’t matter so much if its legal, why work for someone that would do that? That kind of short-sighted resentful, money-grubbing employer will never be able to give you what you want or need as a person or an employee. Drop them like a habit worse than credit card fees and be free. Anyone that would even consider such a practice, obviously does not have your best interests even remotely visible, let alone at heart

that’d be good advice if there weren’t a few hundred people applying for every foh opening in town.

and it’s not like restaurant owners engaging in this practice are making off like bandits. they’re just having the mechanicals covered on their processing fees. it might be sketchy, but it’s not entirely illogical, either.

Processing fees are just a part of doing business in the 21st century. Allowing customers to pay with a credit card is a service that the establishment chooses to provide the customer. They should be responsible for the cost or go “cash only” and see where that gets them. Its like charging employees for accepting coupons issued by the company.

By that same argument it is entirely up to the individual to work for employers who practice this.

This is SOP at Concept Entertainment, employees are required to pay $.25 for every $10 in credit card tips they receive. It is even in the employee handbook. If it isn’t legal it is in writing.

Yes it is legal but what is not legal is that employees don’t pay taxes on 100 percent of the tips you get! you are cheating every tax payer in the US. START paying your taxes and quit whinning about paying 2% credit card fee.

Boo effin hoo Tax payer! What does paying your employer’s fees for credit card charges have to do with claiming tips? Nothing. Does anyone else remember when you could make a living waiting tables without employers or Fica making it nearly impossible? And by the way, i just heard of a major hotel corporation (Hilton) paying back wages for taking portions of gratuities here in portland. Trust me if it was legal for mom and pop restaurants to do it when challenged, the mighty hilton sure wouldn’t give a cent back to the people they stole from unless legally obligated to do so. I don’t think its legal, but with over 12% unemployment few people dare say anything.

Here is the fact of restaurant management and ownership- any given idiot thinks that they can do it. Many try, most fail. Prove to them that ignorance of not only the law is no excuse. There is no sweeter revenge than back wages of years and years all at once.

Yea where i work at they make me pay credit card fees and tip out the asshole cooks, dishwasher, host and busser! and we pay more in taxes than most major corporations! And there are only 7 states where servers and bartenders make a real minimum wage. when i worked in tucson and salt lake city i only made $2.13 an hour! And now places ive worked at they get rid of their star cooks and replace them with illegals that they pay half of what they should pay a cook and we have to tip them out because “WE MAKE SO MUCH FUCKING MONEY” or “WE PAY YOU TO MAKE TIPS” so we have to tip out the cooks when they should be gettin paid a real wage. What they should do is get rid of the Ronald Regan tip tax and tax the restaurants that dont offer health care.

It is legal, as I looked into it myself. All McCormick and Schmicks restaraunts charge the servers as well as every other restaurant I worked in. I also work at this little tiny pub that just found out he could charge his servers that instead of him paying it, and therefore one more thing we are responsible for paying for. I did find out if you keep all records in tact throughout the year, and prove how much you have paid for that it is tax deductible, and you do end up getting the money back.

Hold on here, people - is someone saying that zumpie is wrong?

R.U.I. (Restaurants Unlimited Incorporated) owns restaurants across the western states and just acquired about 15 in my home town. They demand the 2% from the servers, and it translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars…why would they stop when in this town, every waiter job gets literally 50-300 applicants. Legal, but greedy.

Why shouldn’t a restaurant recoup the cost of the processing of the server’s portion of the transaction? Every restaurant in town is scratching to keep the doors open and no one is rolling wheel barrows of money to the bank, but FOH staff seems to think that the everything should be free and they should get a piggy back ride to their car at the end of their shift.
Go get a job paving roads or roofing houses and come back and whine about something really hard.
Oh, and “the restaurant makes me…”, typical. YOU decide every day if you want to do something or not. Look in the mirror. If you are over eighteen the only person who can make you do anything is you. Take responsibility for yourself you weak minded simp. If you don’t like a place find something else and quit your belly aching.

Republican. Server’s portion of the transaction my ass. Why not charge the clerks at plaid pantry or fred meyers. They are a party to the transaction. Is it just because we have to make some of our money from the customer? How about others that make their earning off people paying for services with credit? Do realtors or car salesmen pay transaction fees when someone pays on credit? They get commisions. Whats the difference?

Oh yes those high rolling servers, they think everything is handed to them on a silver platter. Jesus! If you are jealous of servers, what shit job do you do? Like holding a shovel on union wages is oh so hard. Try holding said shovel and smile for assholes like me like you have to do all day everyday waiting tables and see how long you last. Of course you could only smile if I went down to where you work and knocked the dick out of your mouth first.
Hugs and Kisses!
Effin

Huber’s does this to as well as changing what you report in tips. I always thought they could’nt change your declared tips. Only report allocated tips(as required by the irs if emps underreport….?)As always, more reason to keep good records of daily tips, etc