My paycheck or tips look wrong. How do I bring it up with my manager?
The short answer
Copy-paste texts
Names, dates, and amounts are made up.
| What looks wrong | Text |
|---|---|
| Card tips look short | “Hi, it’s Sam. My check for the week of May 4 looks short on card tips. My notes say $412 and the stub says $356. When can we go over it?” |
| Hours look short | “Hi, it’s Sam. My stub shows 22 hours for the week of May 4. I have 26 in my notes, including the Saturday double. Can you check the time punches?” |
| Slow week, low pay | “Hi, it’s Sam. The week of May 4 was slow. My wages plus tips come to about $6 an hour for 25 hours. Can you check that the make-up pay to $7.25 went through?” |
| A tip-out or pool question | “Hi, it’s Sam. Can you tell me how the tip pool amount was figured for the week of May 4? I want to make sure my records match.” |
| No reply after a few days | “Hi, it’s Sam. Following up on my May 4 pay question from Tuesday. When’s a good time this week?” |
- Get the stub and your notes side by side. Hours, cash wage, card tips, reported cash tips, tip-outs.
- Find the exact difference and which week it’s in.
- Ask in writing, then talk in person if they’d rather.
- Keep the thread and anything they send back.
Not tax or legal advice. These are wording suggestions, not a finding that your employer did anything wrong.
Plain English
Check these before you ask
A server’s stub can look strange even when it’s right: cash tips you reported get taxed through the paycheck, so the check can be small or even zero. Server paycheck explained walks through the lines. If the numbers still don’t match your record, ask.
The federal floors on tipped pay
These come from DOL’s Fact Sheet #15 on tipped employees:
- Cash wage: at least $2.13 an hour if your employer takes a tip credit.
- Wages plus tips: at least $7.25 an hour for each workweek. If they fall short, your employer makes up the difference by the regular payday for that period.
- The tip credit notice: before taking a tip credit, your employer has to tell you the cash wage, the tip credit amount, and that all your tips are yours except for a valid tip pool. Oral or written notice counts.
- Your tips: your employer, managers, and supervisors can’t keep any part of them. See What can I do if my employer keeps part of our tips?
- Card fees: your employer can take out no more than the card processor’s fee on a card tip, and has to pay the tip by the regular payday. See Can my employer take credit card fees from my tips?
- Walkouts and shortages: deducting them is illegal where it takes a tipped worker below minimum wage. See Can my restaurant make me pay for a walkout?
Your state may require a higher cash wage or ban the tip credit. DOL says the employer must follow whichever standard protects you more.
If it doesn’t get fixed
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division takes calls at 1-866-487-9243, and says complaints are confidential. DOL’s Fact Sheet #77A says the FLSA protects workers from retaliation for complaints made orally or in writing, and that most courts have ruled internal complaints to an employer are also protected. For your state’s rules, see DOL’s list of state labor offices.
Common mistakes
- Bringing it up during a rush, in front of coworkers.
- Saying “my check is wrong” without dates or amounts.
- Not having your own record to compare.
- Only asking out loud, with nothing in writing.
Official sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #77A: Prohibiting Retaliation Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: How to File a Complaintdol.gov
- IRS Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income (daily tip record)irs.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Officesdol.gov
Last verified:
Checked DOL Fact Sheets #15 and #77A, DOL’s complaint page, IRS Publication 531 (revised December 2024), and DOL’s state labor offices list.
Still open: State wage rules for tipped workers differ and aren’t covered here.