My manager just told me to do something. Is that allowed?
The short answer
It depends on what you were told, but federal law answers most of the common ones. Your manager can’t keep your tips, have you work off the clock, or take deductions that drop you below the minimum wage. Other things, like breaks and paid sick days, federal law leaves to your state and your employer. Find your situation in the table below, then follow the link for the details and sources.
Quick check
| Can my manager…? | Short federal answer | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Take money from the tip pool? | No. Managers, supervisors, and owners can’t keep any of your tips. | Managers and the tip pool |
| Keep part of my tips? | No, for any purpose, whatever your hourly wage. | Employer keeping tips |
| Take the card fee out of my tips? | Only the actual card fee, and not below minimum wage. | Card fees and tips |
| Hold my card tips until payday, or later? | Until the regular payday, not past it. | Holding card tips |
| Make me join a tip pool? | Yes, within limits on who can be in it. | Required tip pools |
| Put the kitchen in our tip pool? | Only if everyone gets at least $7.25 an hour in cash wages. | Cooks and dishwashers in the pool |
| Set a big tip-out? | No federal cap on a valid pool, but managers can’t share in it. | Limits on tip-outs |
| Make me pay for a walkout? | Not out of your minimum wage. At $2.13, DOL calls it illegal. | Walkouts |
| Charge me for my uniform or something I broke? | Not below the minimum wage or into overtime, even if it was your mistake. | Uniforms and deductions |
| Make me do side work at $2.13? | Related side work, yes. A separate non-tipped job gets no tip credit. | Side work at $2.13 |
| Have me clock out and keep working? | No. Time you work counts, clocked in or not. | Off the clock |
| Make me come early for lineup, or stay after close, unpaid? | No. Required meetings and closing work are work time. | Pre-shift meetings |
| Pay me $2.13 without explaining the tip credit? | No. Without the notice, there’s no tip credit. | Tip credit notice |
| Skip overtime because I make $2.13? | No. Overtime is figured on the full $7.25. | Overtime at $2.13 |
| Make me work without a break? | Federal law doesn’t require breaks, but short breaks are paid. Your state may require them. | Breaks |
| Cut my hours after I complain about pay? | Retaliation for a pay complaint is banned. Whether a cut is retaliation depends on the facts. | Retaliation |
| Tell me not to talk about my pay? | Generally no. The NLRB says covered employees can discuss wages with coworkers. | Talking about pay |
| Ignore a customer harassing me? | Your employer can be liable if it knew or should have known and didn’t act. | Customer harassment |
| Demand a doctor’s note, or refuse sick pay? | No federal paid sick leave. FMLA gives unpaid leave if you qualify. Check your state. | Doctor’s notes and sick time |
| Take back a tip after a guest disputes the charge? | Only if the card charge is never collected, and not below the tip credit that week. | Disputed tips |
| Keep the auto-gratuity on a large party? | Yes, under federal law. A mandatory service charge isn’t a tip. Your state may differ. | Auto-gratuities |
| Keep the tips on to-go orders? | No. They go to the employee who got them or a valid tip pool. | To-go tips |
| Refuse to show me the tip pool numbers? | No federal right to see them, but your employer must keep tip records for DOL. | Tip pool records |
| Make me pay for my food handler card or tools? | Not if it cuts into your minimum wage or overtime that week. | Work costs |
| Pay me $2.13 while I train with no tables? | Only if tips bring you to $7.25 an hour for the week. Otherwise it must make up the gap. | Training pay |
| Ask me to work a trial shift for free? | Not if you’re doing real work. Serving guests is work, and work is paid. | Trial shifts |
| Have me close alone at night? | Yes. No federal two-person rule. OSHA recommends safety steps. | Closing alone |
| Punish me for reporting to DOL? | No. Retaliation for a wage complaint is illegal. DOL keeps complaints confidential. | Reporting to DOL |
Not tax or legal advice. These are federal rules only. When your state’s rule protects you more, DOL says your employer has to follow it.
Plain English
Who makes these rules
Most of the pay questions above fall under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which DOL’s Wage and Hour Division enforces. Harassment and discrimination fall under laws the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces. Your state may have stricter rules on any of these, and DOL says your employer has to follow whichever rule protects you more. DOL keeps a list of state labor offices.
How to raise it
- Talk to your manager or the owner. Many problems are mistakes. Ask plainly, for example: “My card tips from Friday aren’t on this check. Can you look into it?”
- Put it in writing. Send a short, polite text or email with the date and what happened. Keep copies somewhere other than a work device, along with your own notes of hours and tips.
- Call DOL’s Wage and Hour Division for pay, tips, hours, and breaks: 1-866-487-9243. DOL says complaints are confidential and that an employer can’t retaliate against you for filing one. See How to file a complaint.
- Contact EEOC for harassment or discrimination: 1-800-669-4000, or see How to file a charge. There’s a deadline: 180 days, extended to 300 days in some places.
For more on wages and your rights, see Pay and rights.
Common mistakes
- Assuming “that’s how every restaurant does it” means it’s allowed.
- Raising a pay problem only out loud, with no dated text or email.
- Waiting months to raise it. EEOC charges have a deadline, and pay records get harder to piece together.
- Checking only federal law. Your state may protect you more.
Official sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #16: Deductions From Wages for Uniforms and Other Facilities Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #77A: Prohibiting Retaliation Under the FLSAdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor: Breaks and Meal Periodsdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor: Sick Leavedol.gov
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Harassmenteeoc.gov
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: How to File a Charge of Employment Discriminationeeoc.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: How to File a Complaintdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Officesdol.gov
Last verified:
Checked DOL Fact Sheets #15, #16, #22, and #77A, DOL’s Breaks and Meal Periods and Sick Leave pages, DOL’s complaint page, and EEOC’s Harassment and How to File a Charge pages. Each linked page lists its own sources.
Still open: Several rows depend on the facts, such as whether side work is a separate job or a schedule cut is retaliation. The linked pages say what’s open.
All Is my manager allowed to do that? questions
Your pay and tips
- Can my manager make me roll silverware and clean at $2.13 an hour?
- Nobody ever told me I was being paid with a tip credit. Doesn’t my employer have to tell me?
- My restaurant holds our card tips until payday, and sometimes pays them late. Is that allowed?
- Can my manager take money out of my pay for my uniform, something I broke, or a mistake?
- A guest disputed their card charge. Can my manager make me pay the tip back?
- My restaurant adds an auto-gratuity for big parties. Does that money have to go to me?
- Who gets the tips on to-go and takeout orders? Can the owner keep them?
- My manager splits the tip pool and we never see the totals. Can I see the records?
- Can my restaurant make me pay for my food handler card, tools, or alcohol certification?
Your hours
- My manager told me to clock out and then finish my side work. Is that allowed?
- Do I get paid if my manager makes me come in early for lineup or stay after close?
- I worked a double with no break. Is my manager allowed to do that?
- I’m training as a server and getting $2.13 with no tables. Is that legal?
- A restaurant wants me to do an unpaid trial shift before hiring me. Is that legal?
Your rights at work
- I complained about my pay and now my manager is cutting my shifts. Is that allowed?
- A regular keeps commenting on my body and my manager just laughs it off. Does my manager have to do something?
- My manager says we’re not allowed to talk about our pay or tips with each other. Is that allowed?
- My manager wants a doctor’s note every time I call in sick and won’t give me sick time. Can they do that?
- Can my manager make me close the restaurant alone at night?