By Pooja Patel and Anthony Zaller
An issue that constantly plagues the service industry is what to do about tips and the challenges that come with mandated tip pooling and mandatory service charges. This week’s post is an update and a general discussion about tipping and mandatory service charges. This simple concept is surprisingly complex
It is critical for California employers to properly calculate the regular rate of pay for an employee in order to pay the appropriate overtime pay and for premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks. Here are five issues employers must be aware of regarding calculating an employee’s regular rate of pay:
1. Employers must
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
As I wrote about recently, on March 23, 2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 signed by President Trump changed federal law on the issue of tip pools and allows employers to share tips with back of the house employees. In connection with the new law, the Department of Labor issued a memorandum this week
This week, a federal court in northern California certified portions of a class action 
brought by Uber drivers who worked in California since 2009 (click here for the decision [PDF]). Over 160,000 drivers have worked for Uber in California during this time period, and while the case is making a lot of news,
1) Gratuities
All tips are the emp
loyee’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
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a panel of city lawmakers approved a draft of the ordinance that would raise the 
minimum wage in Los Angeles to $15 per hour by 2020, moving the ordinance one step closer to passage. There was a backlash this week against the labor unions that were pushing hard
Today’s Friday’s Five provides a few points for employers to consider who have employees that 
receive gratuities. California law is very specific regarding gratuities left for employees, and since tips are property of the employee, employers must approach this area with caution. Here are five “tips” about tips in California.
1. Tips are employee’s property.
The California Supreme Court denied review of a lower appellate cou
rt decision in the class action of Chau v. Starbucks. The issue in the case is whether store managers, who as part of their duties also served customers, could share in the tips which were left for all servers. The trial court took
California restaurateurs received a huge victory from the Second District appellate court’s ruling in Budrow v. Dave & Buster’s Of California, Inc. The lawsuit against Dave & Buster’s alleged that its tip pool policy violated California law in that it required employees to tip out bartenders who did not provide "direct table service." The