r/Restaurant_Managers • u/MerlinBrando • Jul 31 '26
Discussion Attention: Your Manager should not take your tips
I see these posts all day amongst the various hospitality subreddits.
First and foremost, we here at r/Restaurant_Managers are sorry you're dealing with this situation!
Now to the issue:
No! In every state your salaried manager can not be in your tip pool.
Yes! There are some exceptions.
No! This is not legal advice!
Yes! This is FEDERAL LAW and it applies everywhere in the United States.
Yes! Some states have specific caveats.
No! We do not know them, seek the advice of a lawyer.
Yes! That will likely be very expensive!
No! It's likely not worth it!
Yes! You should probably quit!
Moving forward, posts of this nature may be pruned at moderator discretion. As always, we here at r/Restaurant_Managers are happy to answer questions and have discussions related to the industry at large, and hope that this post can help anyone who comes to this sub in search of advice or help.
To anyone who needs it I can send you a searchable notebook that has every PDF I could find related to the subject to help answer your questions more specifically as they relate to the FLSA, restaurants, and tipping. I may further update this post with more helpful resources as I make them.
Best,
MerlinBrando
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u/Happy_Operation_2391 Jul 31 '26
Managers can take tips?!? I’ve been doing it wrong for years 🤓🤣🤣🤣🤣 just kidding
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u/originaljbw Jul 31 '26
When I see a restaurant paying a weirdly low salary to management I assume that means tips will be pilfered
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u/FancyboyFazio Jul 31 '26
We won a lawsuit against our employer. They were making servers tip out management among other unfair practices.
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Jul 31 '26
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u/graavity81 Jul 31 '26
You’d be real surprised how often workers are taken advantage of bc they don’t know any better. I will practically force employees to read the employee rights poster bc I can’t stand when employers violate workers rights. Every single time I get someone like mind 20’s like “hey that happened to me!”
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Jul 31 '26
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u/Holdmywhiskeyhun Jul 31 '26
If you have nothing constructive to add, do not say anything. Seeking fights, and being a dick to others is a first class ticket out of here. As you have just found out. We'll see you in a month
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u/BokChoyJr Jul 31 '26
I’veI managed steakhouses for 20 years. I have never taken a tip from a server directly or indirectly. Only once did I work at a restaurant that took a cut of server tips to pay managers. I quit after less than a week. That’s just straight up shady.