For any hours an employee works over 40 per week, the employee must receive overtime.
New York restaurants must pay employees a minimum wage of at least $10.40 per hour, or at least $7.50 per hour if it takes a “tip credit"
There is a common misconception that if a employee is paid on a salary or shift pay, overtime pay is not required.
Tips should only be shared with waiters, waitresses, bussers, runners, and other front of the house workers who deal with customers.
Restaurants cannot require servers to share their tips with non-service employees.
New York restaurant workers are entitled to an extra hour of pay when the work day spans more than ten hours.
Employees should be paid for any time they are required to be in the restaurant.
A restaurant must provide notice before paying waitstaff a tipped minimum wage.
Restaurant workers may not be charged for buying or cleaning a uniform.
An employer may deduct a small percentage from the credit card tips left for employees.
A restaurant cannot charge an employee for customer walkouts or breakage.
In New York, a “service charge” or fixed gratuity belongs to the waitstaff.
Canlis, a famous Seattle restaurant, settled a wage theft class action lawsuit filed by its servers for $1.45 million dollars.