The law is being misused. See 19 and 27.
I understand that.
but something in me is telling me the poster doesn't want to try to find a new job and would instead stand for the status quo....
changing the use of the law would probably not be easier....
The law is being misused alright. The law states that an employer can reduce the wages of an employee who receives tips if, and only if, all tips received by the employee are retained by the employee. However, what this law actually is allowing is for employers to prevent their tipped employees from retaining their tips. The word "retain" is defined as to keep in possession or use and yet employers are being allowed to use their employee's tips to reduce the employee's wages. There is no way for an employeee to retain his tips when his employer is allowed to offset those tips against his hourly wages. You see, when an employee receives $20 in tips the tip credit law allows the employer to reduce the employee's wages by $20 thus nulifying the financial benefits of the $20 tip. If the employee doesn't receive a $20 tip his employer must pay him $41.20 for the day, 8 hours times $5.15 an hour. If the employee receives a $20 tip, his employer is allowed to pay him $21.20 for that eight hours of work, $41.20 minus a $20 tip credit. What this means is that our federal government has passed a bill which allows business owners an ability to prevent the tipped worker from actually retaining his tips even though they have included a provision specifically stating that this law can only be utilized if and only if all tips received by the employee are retained by the employee. An employee cannot retain his tips when his employer is reducing his wages because of those tips.
You see, in the above scenario the waiter who is given a $20 tip will not retain any of his tip for he will go home with the same earnings he would have had the customer not tipped him at all. If the customer had not tipped him his employer would have had to have paid him $41.20, the regular minimum wage. When a customer tips him $20, he will still go hime with $41.20 in his pocket because his employer was allowed to prevent him from actually retaining his tips by a law that specifically states all tips received by the employee must be retained by the employee.
What this law actually states is that employers may retain their employee's tips as long as they don't retain their employee's tips.