In O’Grady v. Merchant Exchange Productions, Inc., the California Court of Appeals held that a mandatory service charge could potentially be found to be a gratuity that must be distributed to service employees. The issue in the case is whether a “service charge” can be a “gratuity” that Labor Code section 351 requires to
Labor Code section 350
Five wage deductions California employers cannot make
By Anthony Zaller on
1) Gratuities
All tips are the employee’s property, and cannot be taken by the employer. Labor Code section 350 states unequivocally that “Every gratuity is hereby declared to be the sole property of the employee or employees for whom it was paid, given or left for.” In addition, Labor Code section 351 clearly states…