A flat weekly amount for any number of hours
A “salary” of $700 for a 60-hour week is not a salary; it is hourly pay that skipped overtime. Overtime is owed after 40 hours whether you were paid by check or in cash.
Restaurants, delis & kitchens NY · NJ · FL
Sixty-hour weeks and a flat amount in cash. Kitchens are where wage cases start.
Restaurants and delis run on long shifts, cash pay and tip pools. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act and New York’s restaurant and hotel rules (the Hospitality Wage Order) cover every one of those. A shorted paycheck often breaks several at once.
HOW THE PAY GOES WRONG HERE
Cooks, dishwashers, servers, delivery workers. Here is what we see most.
Each of these may be a claim under federal law or the law of the state where you worked. The oldest weeks fall out of reach as time passes, so the clock matters.
Tip credit taken without notice
An employer may pay a lower cash wage to tipped staff only if it told you first (in New York, in writing) and you kept your tips. Owners and managers can never share in the pool. In New York a day with two hours or more, or more than 20 percent of the shift, on work that earns no tips loses the credit for that day.
Service charges kept by the house
In New York, a mandatory service charge on a bill belongs to the staff unless the customer was clearly told it is not a tip.
Long days without the extra hour
In New York restaurants and hotels, a day that spans more than ten hours, including a split shift, adds one hour of pay at the minimum wage, at every pay level.
Sent home after showing up
In New York hospitality, reporting for a shift and being sent home means at least three hours of pay, or your scheduled shift if it was shorter.
Uniforms and breakage taken from pay
Deductions for a customer who walked out or a broken plate are unlawful in New York, and a uniform you wash yourself earns a weekly allowance.
WHAT TO SAVE
You do not need paperwork to start. This helps.
Your usual start and end times, and days worked
Photos of posted schedules and the tip sheet
Cash envelopes, pay stubs or payment-app history
Texts with the manager about hours or tips
Restaurants, delis & kitchens
You know your hours. We know what the law says you are owed for them.
Tell us where you worked, your schedule and how you were paid. A lawyer reads every message.
Tell us what happened (718) 484-7510