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Thread: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

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    Featured Member lolagetz's Avatar
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    Default What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    I just got my first paycheck at my new job at this restaurant, where the waitresses share their tips with me because I help them out a lot as hostess & busser and stuff. Now, I knew one had to pay taxes on one's tips with this sort of job, but on my check it says that they've deducted the FULL AMOUNT of my tips along with taxes. WTF?! How is this legal? Do I get my damn tip money back at the end of the year?!

    Here's how my check looks:

    Earnings: rate hours this period
    Regular 8.00 39.5 316.00
    Tips 26.68

    Gross Pay: 342.68


    Deductions:

    Statutory:
    Federal Income Tax -9.06
    Social Security Tax -21.25
    Medicare Tax -4.97
    CA SUI/SDI Tax -2.06

    Other:
    Tips -26.68

    Net Pay: 278.66




    Alright, so I really don't get how this works. Why are they taking all my money away from me?

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    Featured Member lolagetz's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    I guess that makes sense.. Um.. but I don't know how it could have come out to 26.68, because it's always been whole dollars. I guess I'll ask the manager tonight how it works. Ugh, I want to go back to stripping.. so much easier!

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    it could be that tip sharing is used by your employer, such that the amount of tip income 'reported' in the payroll system is the average of all employees' reported tips times all hours worked, or some such formula, rather than each employee's individually reported tip amounts.

    Also in regard to dancing in California, there was a court decision handed down two years ago which arguably declared that all dancers in California were to be treated as 'employees'. If and when this court decision is enforced, the tax picture for California clubs and dancers could get FAR more complicated in a hurry.

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    Featured Member lolagetz's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    it could be that tip sharing is used by your employer, such that the amount of tip income 'reported' in the payroll system is the average of all employees' reported tips times all hours worked, or some such formula, rather than each employee's individually reported tip amounts.

    Also in regard to dancing in California, there was a court decision handed down two years ago which arguably declared that all dancers in California were to be treated as 'employees'. If and when this court decision is enforced, the tax picture for California clubs and dancers could get FAR more complicated in a hurry.
    Whaaa? But that's not fair for those who make fewer tips than average (namely: ME). This sucks. Grrrph.

    Lol, I know I sound like a whiny college student, but I hate giving money to the government. I'm only 20 years old and I have to pay all my own bills cause my parents are losers and have crappy jobs and other kids they still have to raise. Ugh.

    Thanks for the info, though.

  5. #5
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    I dunno what's different in California because I know the minimum wage laws are different here, but the federal minimum wage doesn't require your employer to pay you beyond a certain amount. So if your tips bring you up to the minimum wage, the employer isn't required to pay you more than $2.13 an hour. This is why they nag you to declare all your tips (you are also taxed on what you declare). They could be deducting your tips so that they don't have to pay you as much.

    And BTW, I know how much it sucks because I was in your position too. I started working at 15 and was supporting myself completely by 18, and put myself through a B.A. and a Master's with no loans. Incidentally I wasn't stripping then either, I was waitressing. It's miserable but it can be done, so hang in there.

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    Featured Member lolagetz's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    So my manager explained it to me like this: they add the tips in there with the gross pay so they can tax it, and then take it out again because it's already been received, so that's why my net is so much different from my gross.

    I still don't understand how it came out to $26.68, though, since I've only been handed whole dollars.. I guess I'll ask her that later..

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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    Sometimes they take out a % based on what THEY THINK you shoul've been tipped based on the price of the meals you served.

    IE: You get $2 an hour... couple comes in and orders 2 $50 meals. They SHOULD tip 10%, but they're assholes and don't. The paycheck ASSUMES you got $10... so they deduct $10 from your $2 and now you OWE for serving someone a meal because they didn't tip.

    Oh yeah, it happens, and it's perfectly legal. My friend once had a negative pay because assholes wouldn't tip her.


    Look like a woman
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    - My Great Grandmother Bessie's Recipe for Success

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    Featured Member lolagetz's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    ^^^ Whaaa? Damn it, I'm too scared to ask my manager how the tips work. Whatever. She gets bitchier every day. Grmph. I'm going to start dancing again in a couple of months. I don't want to quit this job, though, 'cause I hate having a gap in my resume.

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    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    ^You would put dancing on your resume?

    I love popping in the dollar section every once in a while... I learn the craziest things! Yek, I had no idea that they could pay you less than minimum wage! To me, that's like saying, "Well, we heard you have another job. So, we're just not going to pay you for this one."
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    ^^^ yup, federal and state minimum wage laws allow the separate computation of expected tip incomes paid directly by 'customers', plus hourly base wages paid by the 'employer', as long as the two together add up to the minimum wage.

    This was also the genesis of major percentage labor cost increases for the 'employers' of tipped minimum wage employees, since the tip incomes paid directly by 'customers' did not increase. Therefore when the minimum wage was recently increased in some states from say $5.15 an hour to $6.75 an hour, the former split of $2.50 an hour tip income plus $ 2.65 an hour base pay recently became $2.50 an your tip income plus $4.25 an hour base pay. 4.25/2.65 constitutes an employer labor cost increase of 60%.

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    God/dess virgoamm's Avatar
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    Ugh, that's one of the things I I loved about living in Seattle. If you're a waitress, cocktail server or bartender you get minimum wage plus tips (at that time was 7.50). I made out like a bandit working at a casino there. They don't leave it up to the customers to pay your wages, which in my mind, should be illegal. It's 2.13 here, and has been as long as I remember! Um, cost of living increase? Anyone, anyone?

  12. #12
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: What the fuck? They take my tips out of my paycheck?

    Good point. When I got my first job about 13 years ago, the minimum wage was $4.25. I started waitressing for $2.13 shortly thereafter. Since then the federal minimum has been raised several times but the tipped minimum remains at $2.13. At that point they might as well keep it. That $2.13 an hour (BEFORE taxes) isn't really worth anything nowadays.

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