Legal Advice Needed Concerning Restaurant Tipping?

Legal Advice Concerning Restaurant Tip(s)?


If anyone could provide me an answer to this question, or at least a specific website to go to, I would be very appreciative.





I work as a bartender for a major restaurant chain. On any given Friday night, there are two other bartenders working with me. As we work, we put our tips in a community jar. The last bartender to leave for the night takes them all home, splits them up, then distributes them the next day. This system has been in place for years, and has worked well to this point.





However, I got into a heated argument with the closing bartender (the one who takes and distributes the tips) tonight. I have reason to believe he is going to short me quite a bit of $, and will continue to do so in the future. Telling the managers of the restaurant will do no good, as they are not allowed to address any issue concerning tips because of liability issues. Quitting is not an option I have worked there too long, and the money is too good.





What can I do? If I can prove that he is stealing money from me (through taunting text messages), is there any legal basis for me to sue him? Is there a specific federal or state (I live in WI) law I can lookup?





Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to e-mail me if you need any more details. Thanks!Legal Advice Needed Concerning Restaurant Tipping?
There is probably not much you can do, especially if the manager cannot get involved.





It probably wouldn't last well in court, as getting a lawyer is probably worth more in the first place.





This closing bartender sounds like a real *****... who does that to someone else? I say just kick his ***.Legal Advice Needed Concerning Restaurant Tipping?
Solution.....





Seperate tip jars, for each bartender. Keep what you get. That way there is no ';need to count up ';. And no way to get ripped off either.





BTW what does management do about tips on credit cards ? How do you get that amount, that you are entitled to get ?





In my experience, the best way is to have the ';house '; buy the credit card tips, and pay you in cash for the amount, each day or night. That way they keep 100 percent of the credit card slips, when they are paid by the card company.





Jim B. Toronto.
Since you probably don't pay taxes on those tips, you have no recourse due to 'unclean hands'. This basically means you were scamming a system and got bit doing something under the table.








I'd just pay to have the guy beat up in a dark alley.