Tip Pooling/Shared Tip Pools

In this blurb from the Louisville Courier-Journal, it is noted that Starbucks was recently ordered to pay $100 million to baristas for lost tips.  The lawsuit stemmed from a practice called tip pooling.  In the Starbucks case, shift supervisors, or managerial employees, had been taking funds from a shared tip pool that was meant only for nonmangerial employees.  These types of practices occur more often than one may think and result in the loss of hard earned tips for many employees.  Employees need to be aware that their rights may be violated when employees who are generally not tipped are sharing in a tip pool with tipped employees.  If you are an employee who believes your employer may be engaging in such a practice or has questions about this practice, please contact the law firm of Gray and White Law for a free consultation.