With many companies struggling to find workers, more employees are standing up for their rights and demanding better treatment. One recent example is Orlando International Airport workers. Over a hundred of them staged a walkout last week to demand better wages, among other things.
Take the example of the airport workers. Some who work as wheelchair assistants are upset that they only make $7.98 an hour. How does their employer get away with doing that? They classify them as tipped workers.
Employers can pay tipped workers less
The current minimum for a tipped worker is $6.98 per hour. To be classified as a tipped worker, you must earn at least $30 per month in tips.
Being a tipped worker can be fantastic if you are in a job where people tip well, and you receive the total amount of tips due to you. Yet, often it is not beneficial. In the case of the wheelchair assistants, they say many of the people they assist do not have the money to leave tips that compensate for the low hourly rate.
If you are not making at least minimum wage when you include your tips, something is amiss. If you are raking in the tips and still only making minimum or close to it, you need to check where the extra money is disappearing to.
Employers have several legal ways to minimize what they pay you as a tipped worker. Yet because this information can be confusing, some employers take advantage to cheat workers out of paying them what they should. Finding out more about Florida wage laws allows you to determine whether something is amiss, and you can take action, or if it is all legal, and your best option is to search for a better employer.
