Posted on 12/06/2005 12:33:26 PM PST by George14
It has recently been publicized that a 20 percent tip is now appropriate because servers are usually only guaranteed $2.13 an hour and the tips have to be split. Let me explain something. It is the customer's sole right to determine whether a tip is given, the amount and who will be the recipient of his tip. Such rights are not only guaranteed by our constitution they are clearly explained in the Code of Federal Regulations. Customers may tip any amount they choose. Instead of a higher tip being appropriate, what is now actually appropriate is for the public to start questioning why they are being expected to tip more.
While it has been widely publicized that tip splitting and lowered wages are both creating a need for higher tip percentages, what is not being publicized is an explanation of what these business practices actually are and why they create a need for the public to tip more. You see in both cases, such practices equate to employers being allowed to take part the tips away from the employee to whom the customer has presented a tip. You see, tip splitting is the business practice whereby employers take part of the tipped employee's tips and give them to workers whom the customer had every right and ability to tip but didn't. The $2.13 an hour business practice which has been publicized is actually called a tip credit. The tip credit also allows businesses to take or credit part of their employee's tips for themselves. In both cases the public's tips are being taken by businesses owners. The problem is not that customers should be tipping more the problem is that business owners should not be utilizing their employee's tips for the business's interests.
The truth is, business owners are using the customer's tips which undeniably and indisputably are not intended for the business owner for the business's own interests. Such business practices are being allowed by our government even though such business practices are an illegal dominion over the customer's property. To put it simply, businesses are being allowed to steal the money customers present as tips. Now, the public is being expected to tip more because the workers are not receiving the financial benefits of the tips they have been presented.
What is needed is not a higher tip percentage but some educating of the public of what is actually happening to their tip. Businesses have lobbied our federal government and I believe have probably even paid off many of our judges so they can steal the financial benefits of the tips our public is tipping workers in the service industry. The stories you read on how the public is being expected to tip more are actually stories about how our country is allowing businesses owners an ability to blatantly steal from their workers. If the real issue was resolved there would be no issue.
Employers should be prohibited from using their employee's tips to establish a lower minimum wage for their tipped workers. Customers are not tipping so the business can lower it's payroll expenses and thus benefit itself to the customer's tip. Customers are not tipping so the business owner can decide who should share in their tip. Both these business practices are fraud on the public for they are clearly the misappropriations of the public's property. Because our public has sat back and done nothing as business owners misappropriate the public's tips to their own interests, there now exists an undue pressure on the public to tip more to make up for such criminal acts.
The reason I believe our public has sat back and done nothing as business owners reap the financial benefits of the tips presented to their workers is because the media has also been paid off to avoid informing the public of what is actually happening to their tip when the courts ignore the constitutional rights of the customer and when our federal government so blatantly misappropriates the public's tips. The courts have ruled that employers may share the customer's tip among employees whom the customer had every right to tip but didn't. The federal government has allowed businesses to benefit themselves to the customer's tip through the tip credit without the consent of the customer. Such acts by our federal government and courts are not only unconstitutional but criminal. The media is covering up such crimes by intentionally avoiding the issue and keeping the truth from the public.
The tipped employees of this nation need some help from the public on these issues. The truth of what is happening to the customer's tip is being withheld from the public so that employers can continue to steal our tips while the public is left to foot the bill.
LOL. Maybe that's why no one tips in Europe?
What's the difference between a canoe and a Canadian?
A canoe will tip...
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The reason so many businesses are putting out tip jars is because our corrupt government has allowed business owners the ability to benefit themselves to the customer's tip without his consent or knowledge. The tip credit has allowed business owners an ability to lower the wages of employees who receive tips to an amount below minimum wage. As a result, businesses are soliciting tips with tip jars so their employees will receive tips and the business owner can pay his employees less in hourly wages. Tip jars have become just another way for businesses to reduce their payroll expenses because our government refuses to accept the fact that tips are intended for the benefit of the worker.
One can discern from your remark that you haven't spent much, if any, time in the UK or Europe.
The reason so many businesses are promoting the notion that customers should tip more is because businsses are being allowed to steal much of this money for themselves. Most of their employees don't even realize that the finacial benefits of the customer's tips are being stolen from them for it has been hidden in their hourly pay. If customers tip an employee $20 for the day, an employer, because of the tip credit, can reduce the hourly wages of that employee by $20. This is what the tip credit does. It allows business to benefit themselves to the customer's by using the customers tip to justify paying their employee less in hourly wages. Because our corrupt government has passed a tip creit bill which allows employers to pay tipped employees wages lower than the regular minimum wage requrements of this country, an employee who receives $20 in tips for the day can be payed $20 less than he would have had the customers not tipped him at all. A waiter can receive a $20 tip only to find out that the only one who benefitted from it was the business owner. Oh, the waiter keeps the tip, but his employer pays him $20 less in wages for the day. What this really means is that the waiter doesn't really keep the tip at all. He may go home with the tip but because his employer was allowed to lower his wages by $20 for that days work it was actually the business owner who benefitted from the customer's tip. Because the customer tipped one of his employees $20, the business owner was able to reduce his employees wages by $20 and thus save himself $20 he would have had to pay had the customer not tipped.
Tip percentages shouldn't be going up. They are tied to inflation, however, when business are allowed to steal them for themsleves you will see more publicizing of the request to tip higher percentages. The more you give, the more business can steal now that they've paid off our judges and politicians to allow them to steal the tips presented to their employees.
SoothingDave wrote:
What bothers me is this attitude that "these people are being 'screwed' by having to share tips, so I'm not going to tip them." I don't think most people think that way.
What you are failing to realize is that we cannot share tips without our employer taking advatage of our good will. Our employers force us to give tips to other workers whom customers could have tipped but didn't, then because these other workers are receiveing tips from us, our employer pays these other workers lower wages just like they're paying us lower wages. You see, our sharing tips with other workers is not benefitting the other workers as much as it is saving our employer money on wages. Business want us to share our tips with their non-tipped workers so they won't have to pay them. If we do the nice thing and share our tips with our fellow employees the employer just pays them less. Why shouldn't employers be nicer and pay these other workers a little more so we do not have to share our tips with them? Don't put this all off on the waiters or employees who actually receive tips from customers. This is our job. What customers give us should be ours. If customers want others to share in their tip then they have every rights and ability to make their intentions clear either verbally, in writing or by their actions in presenting tips to those whom they wish receive a tip.
The businesses must also abide by rules and laws. The Fair Labor Standards Act states that the law forbids any arrangement between the employer and the tipped employee whereby any part of the tip received becomes the property of the employer. A tip is the sole property of the tipped employee. It is against the law to steal another's property. Employers who intimidate or force their employees into sharing their tips with other workers are stealing their employees tips by forcing them to give part of what is legally their property to others. There is no debate on this issue. It's against the law. You cannot force someone to give over there property to another without committing theft. Please get this staight. Employer required tip pooling is not simply a business practice that employees should adhere to. It is a crime that employees are suffering from everyday as the public and our government sits back doing nothing to stop it. Most people don't even know it's going on. Employees are afraid to speak out and the media refuses to print anything suggesting that our business owners are blatantly stealing the customer's tips for themselves and breaking the law.
I as a customer am supposed to be able to single out any one I want as the recipient of my tip. It's the customer's constitutional right to determine for himself who should be the recipient of his tip. This constitutional right to determine for one's self how his money is spent is a part of the liberty that is guaranteed by our constitution in both the 5th and the 14th amendments. When employers are allowed to arbitrarily share the tip their worker has received with other workers it deprives the customer of his right to determine who should receive his tip.
When business are allowed to reduce the wages of an employee simply because the customer chose to tip that employee, again, the customer is being deprived of his constitutional right to determine how his money is spent. The tip credit allows businesses to turn the customers tip into financial benefits for the business whether the customer is in agreement or not. Because of the unconstitutional tip credit, a customer who gives a waiter a $20 dollar tip can have his tip used to reduce the business's payroll expenses irregardless of the fact that he is tipping to financially benefit the worker.
When busisnesses are allowed to use the customer's tip to save themsleves money the business is able to benefit themselves to the customer's tip even though it was the intention of the customer to financially benefit the worker.
Employer required tip pooling along with the tip credit deprive the public of their right to determine who should receive the finacial benefits of their tip.
Employer required tip pooling is a business practice which deprives the customer of his right to determine who should receive his tip. When employers are allowed to require tip pooling it doesn't matter if the customer tells the owner his tip is intended for one employee. The business has been given a legal authority to disregard the constitutional rights of the customer and determine for themselves who should receive the customer's tip. Businesses can take the customer's tip away from the customer's intended recipient without any permission needed from the customer.
When employers take a tip credit on their tipped employee and pay him $2.13 an hour in wages it is also a business practice which deprives the public of their right to determine who should receive the financial benefits of their tip. The tip credit allows businesses to use the customer's tip to reduce their own expenses so that the business can finacially benfefit from the customer's tip even if the customer clearly indicates that his tip is intended for the financial benefit of the emplolee to whom it was given. Businesses can take the financial benefits of the customer's tip away from his intended recipient, again, without any permission needed from the customer.
These business practices are more than just unconstituional, they are criminal. Tips are the public's money and as such they have the exclusive right to determine who should receive them. Businesses who adopt business practices which take the customers tip and utilze it for the interests of the business are stealing the customer's tips through such business practices.
No, it is a crime not a business practice. When you take someone's property from them and give it to others without their consent it's stealing. Businesses are threatening job applicants with a rufusal to hire if the job applicant doesn't agree to allow the employer to steal his tips, One thing a contract or agreement cannot do is break the law. These employees, whom many misguided people seem to believe have agreed to this tip pooling scam have not agreed to anything. Employers are forcing workers to agree to let their employer break the law. If employees won't agree to let their employer break the law the job appplicant is jobless. It's not only stealing, it's extortion.
Extortion is defined as:
To obtain from another by coercion or intimidation.
to obtain (as money) from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or unlawful use of authority or power.
Coercion:
The use of express or implied threats of violence or reprisal (as discharge from employment) or other intimidating behavior that puts a person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to act against his or her will.
Intimidate:
To make timid or fearful; "Her boss intimidates her"
Her boss is intimidating her into accepting the job with an agreement that the employer will take her tips from her and give them to other workers. As a result she agrees simply because she is fearful that the business will not hire her if she does not agree to let her employer steal part of her tips.
Employer required tip pooling is nothing more than extorion. The stealing of another's property through coercion, threats and intimidation.
There can be no rules of the workplace on who a tip belongs to. It belongs to who ever the customer chooses to give it to. The reason your theory cannot be understood is because it doesn't make sense. Tips are not the business's property that the business should determine who the customer's tip belongs to.
While an understanding that tips should belong to the waiter, or the individual to whom it's presented, still alows you your constitutional right to give tips to other workers, an understanding that tips should belong to everyone working in a business denies customers of their constitutional right to choose for themselves who their tip should belong to.
You see if this employer required tip pooling business practice was viewed correctly as a crime instead of simply a legal business practice, then the public would be able to tip whomever they wished. When employer required tip pooling is viewed errantly as a legal business practice, the public is denied their right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip.
A customer can go into a restaurant and personally esplain to the employer that his tip is intended for the waiter and yet if employer required tip pooling has been allowed in that state the business can still take it away from the waiter regardless of the customer's wishes.
A customer should be able to go into a restaurant and give his tip to who ever he wishes whether it be to one employee or all the employees. The employer should have no say in who, if anyone, should receive the customer's tip. This is the customer's constitutional right. It's called liberty. Businesses who mandate that tips must be pooled are depriving the public of their constitutional right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip and at the same time are depriving their employee's of their property, their tip. Read the 14th or the 5th amendment of our constitution. No person shall be deprived of their life, life liberty or property without due process of law. Business practices are not due process of law. They are in most cases arbitrary actions taken by an individual for his own personal gain.
There can be no rules of the workplace on who a tip belongs to. It belongs to who ever the customer chooses to give it to. The reason your theory cannot be understood is because it doesn't make sense. Tips are not the business's property that the business should determine who the customer's tip belongs to.
While an understanding that tips should belong to the waiter, or the individual to whom it's presented, still alows you your constitutional right to give tips to other workers, an understanding that tips should belong to everyone working in a business denies customers of their constitutional right to choose for themselves who their tip should belong to.
You see if this employer required tip pooling business practice was viewed correctly as a crime instead of simply a legal business practice, then the public would be able to tip whomever they wished. When employer required tip pooling is viewed errantly as a legal business practice, the public is denied their right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip.
A customer can go into a restaurant and personally esplain to the employer that his tip is intended for the waiter and yet if employer required tip pooling has been allowed in that state the business can still take it away from the waiter regardless of the customer's wishes.
A customer should be able to go into a restaurant and give his tip to who ever he wishes whether it be to one employee or all the employees. The employer should have no say in who, if anyone, should receive the customer's tip. This is the customer's constitutional right. It's called liberty. Businesses who mandate that tips must be pooled are depriving the public of their constitutional right to determine for themselves who should receive their tip and at the same time are depriving their employee's of their property, their tip. Read the 14th or the 5th amendment of our constitution. No person shall be deprived of their life, life liberty or property without due process of law. Business practices are not due process of law. They are in most cases arbitrary actions taken by an individual for his own personal gain.
What about the business owner? Your analogy is totally ignoring the fact that there is another person involved in this story about customers being viewed as cows. The business is milking the cows out of quite a bit of milk. Infact, businesses will milk cows till they go dry. You see the diference between cows and customers is that customer's cannot be owned by anyone. Customers have a constitutional and God given right to give their milk to whom ever they choose.
This is not a story about cows. This is a story about people who choose to give tips to workers of their choosing while other people, business owners, steal the tips away from those whom the customers have chosen to tip.
I do not claim that since the waiter is the one who delivers the feed, they are entitled to all the milk.
I claim that since the customer gave the waiter a tip, the waiter is entitled all the tip. I caim that if you do not view tips as the property of the individual to whom they are presented and instead view tips as the property of who ever served the customer, the tips will become the business's property. You see tips are defined as a sum given by a customer in recognition of some service. Please see CFR 531.42 of the Code of Federal Regulations at:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_531/29CFR531.52.htm
The key point about tips is that they are and must be given with recognition in order for them to be viewed as tips. Now you might ask, why is it important to view money given by customers as tips? Tips are defined under federal law to protect the customer and the workers. Money left undesignated in a business establishment is legally the property of the business. Tips on the other hand have been defined as the property of the tipped employee. If tips are given without recognition of who should receive them, they become legally the property of the employer. If tips are given with a recognition of who it is intended for then that individual is legally entitled to the tip.
If other workers need more income, then the business owner should raise his prices or lower his own profits so he can pay these other workers more money. What customers give certain workers is their property. Employees should not have to share their tips so business owners can save money and benefit themselves to the customer's tip.
No one tips at the Motor Vehicle Dept. How do you like their service?
From Associated Press
January 03, 2006 1:17 PM EST
WASHINGTON - Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud, clearing the way for him to cooperate in a massive government investigation of influence peddling involving members of Congress.
Is there something ridiculous about thinking that the media might also peddle their infuence?
The media is just as likely to take bribes as our politicians. In fact, I would say that they are more likely for they are not under as much scrutiny.
We live in a corrupt world. It is only logical to apply this blatant corruption to the many unanswered questions that we are faced with. One unanswered question is why are customers being expected to tip higher percentages in restaurants? Another unaswered question is why can employers lower the wages of their tipped employees below the minimum wage requirements of this country. And yet another unaswered question is why can't I keep my tips?
The answer is simply, although it always get's the same old tiresome response that such an answer is ridiculous and conspiracy minded. The answer is, businesses are bribing our politicians and our media to get what they want. Businesses want customers to tip more so that the business can steal more. Businesses want to financially benefit from their employee's tips so they've paid off our politicians to allow them to lower the wages of those who receive tips.
I want to keep my tips but the media refuses to publish articles that expose the fact that our goverment is allowing and encouraging employers to steal their employee's tip. Is there another answer other than corruption?
Is it really ridicualous to believe that people would conspire for money?
This is one of the biggest stories of the century. Our politicians along with the media have been party to one of the biggest conspiracies in our country. The stealing of America's tips. Our puiblic's tips are being turned into corporate profits driven by payoffs to politicians and the media. Our politicians have undoubtably been paid off to pass blatantly unconstitutional and criminal laws so that businesses can steal the finacial benefits of their worker's tips. Our mendia has undoubtable been paid off to avoid exposing such criminal acts and as a result I cannot keep the tips customers give me.
Do you have a better answer?
Who is a good tipper and who is a bad tipper? Who is a drunken animal? For the answers, go to:
http://www.bitterwaitress.com
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