Employer Nasty business/need some help for a sweet girl

by restrangled 10 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  restrangled

  My son's girlfriend as been a bartender for over 3 years for a major chain here in Orlando....(Universal Studios)

  Several nights ago at closing, some one came in and gave her a big tip. She turned in $2.50 cents less than she should have and turns out it was someone for the company. She was ripped sideways and upside down and forced to sign a document stating she had been doing the same for the entire time she was there at 2:00am in the morning after her shift. This idiot estimated she owed the company over $7500.00, ....I say she has a law suit, and I am willing to make the first call before she hires an attorney.

  I cannot believe this goes on, but apparently it does.

  Do any of you out there have experience with this?

  r.
• 

  John Doe

  Depends on what you mean by "forced." If you can't prove she was forced to sign it, then I don't see how she has a case. The time to speak with an attorney was before anything was signed. Really, if she intentionally turned in less than she should have, she's not totally innocent. Need more facts.
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  bigdreaux

  it's a well known fact that bartenders are notorious for skimming off the top. I AM NOT SAYING YOUR SONS G/F STOLE ANYTHING!!! .lol sorry, didn't want to imply that. but, most bars realise this and just deal with it as they have no proof. that's one reason drinks are so expensive. but, in this situation, her defense is they have no way of proving she stole anything. i'm sure it was a simple mistake, the bar seems to have no legal leg to stand on. you can't just pull numbers out of the air and expect a court to give it to you.
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  bigdreaux

  like john doe said, you can't force anyone to sign anything. if you do, it is not legit. she should have walked out and found an attorney. she could have owned that place.
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  fifi40

  I dont fully understand, over here tips are for the employee's anyway and can be individual to the person who has provided you with a service........what gives. Has she previously signed a work agreement to say that all tips go to the employer?
• 

  unique1

  I think you misunderstand fifi. She still has to claim how much she made for tax purposes. I assume this is what they say she was cheating on.

  If she signed anything she is screwed unless she can prove she was forced to sign it.
• 

  sparrow

  Geez I'm glad don't live in the U.S (sorry no advice here)
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  fifi40

  Ok I understand now................if I was her I would claim that it was 2am, I was knackered and miscalculated and that I did not understand what I was signing. I would say I felt harassed and intimidated into signing and as far as I was concerned I thought I was signing to say that I had made a miscalculation of $2.50.........and I would shout loud and hard about it..............maybe even throw in that I had PMT and whilst I hadnt felt well that day I had made the effort to go to work despite having not being 100% on the ball.........and then to be set up and made to sign something over $2.50 under duress........not that I support being dishonest but this does sound incredibly petty......
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  DJK

  Are we talking a tip pool or a cash drawer. Either way it could have been a case of mixing money between the two or giving out too much change. Sounds like she may have been set up too.

  Pooling tips is still quite common. I was surprised to learn my son has to put his tips into a pool at the casino where he is a card dealer. It can seem unfair because some people are poor at their service and dont take in as much as others.
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  carla

  A tip is seperate from the till, unless they have a policy to split the tips with the other bartenders for the night. In that case it would be between the bartenders anyway. If the till is short the bartender usually makes up the difference. If it is a large amount the manager must go through the receipts and try to figure out if something was not collected (a walk out) or if a charge didn't go through or whatever. As for taxes, in my state you used to have to claim a certain percentage of the entire till for the night as tips whether you made it or not (same for waitresses, they had to declare the total of all the receipts for the day) . That is why some bartenders and waitress often don't declare their actual tips, thinking is that some days you have lousy tippers and others are better, all evens out in the end. Waitresses used to make less than half of min wage, bartenders made about min wage sometimes better, depends on the place and tipping in your state.

  She needs to go to the manager, if she has been a valued employee the manager will simply dismiss the yahoo from upper management. A valued employee in that industry is usually given the benefit of the doubt and many chances. Good help is hard to keep.