Is it legal that my employer pay my tips less the commission percentage of the credit card company? US Paywizard.org answers.
Question: March 2011
Is it legal for an employer to make waitresses who are tipped on visa to pay the visa fee of 2% to them?
Answer US Paywizard.org:
It is legal for an employer to pay a waitress tips less the commission percentage of the credit card company, but the waitress' pay may never be lower than the minimum wage.
The Fair Labor Standards Act says: Where tips are charged on a credit card and the employer must pay the credit card company a percentage on each sale, then the employer may pay the employee the tip, less that percentage. This charge on the tip may not reduce the employee's wage below the required minimum wage. The amount due the employee must be paid no later than the regular pay day and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from the credit card company.
See the site of the US Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm - you will find the above mentioned FLSA-quote at the bottom of the page, just above "Typical problems".