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Tips for Tipped Workers: Protecting Your Right to Overtime

The Houston, Texas fair overtime attorneys in our office have seen it time and time again: hard-working tipped employees whose paychecks are not as much as they should be because their employers provide wrong information. For example, the tipped employee's overtime could be calculated incorrectly, the individual could be forced to share tips, or the employee could be asked to clock in or out after or before the work is actually completed.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, there are strict guidelines protecting tipped employees. Tip sharing is to be strictly voluntary, and tips are not required to be shared with employees who are paid by the hour, like bussers, cooks, or expediters. Your employer cannot ask you to start working before your scheduled shift, unless that employer allows you to "clock in" and start the work. Nor can your employer ask that you "clock out" and have you continue performing your tasks.

The lawyers at Kennedy Hodges suggest the following to ensure that your paycheck is as it should be as a tipped employee in Houston, Texas.

• Be honest when claiming tips: If the computer system asks you to declare the amount of money you made in tips at the end of the night, make sure to be accurate. This can help you prove your case later on in the event that you feel you are being paid an unfair hourly wage.

• Don't always take the word of your employer when he or she claims to know the law: Your boss is not working in the legal field. He or she may be telling you a version of the law based on something heard or what he or she wants you to hear.

The best way to follow the second tip is to contact an experienced lawyer who specializes in helping tipped employees , like the attorneys at Kennedy Hodges.

 

Order a free copy of Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Wage and Overtime Claim by calling 888.449.2068 today. You also can fill out our online form , and an attorney from Kennedy Hodges will contact you immediately to set up a free case evaluation and consultation.