For the lawyers out there!!! I need your guidance!?

Hi there. Ok so the situation is that I work in a restaurant in NYC. I need some advice/guidance on what I could do, legally, about my boss, the restaurant owner.



1, everyone who has ever worked in a restaurant knows that you have your hourly wage, and the rest of your pay is tips. Which if I'm correct, does NOT come out of the owner's pocket . Yet she always pays us a week late, she hides checks, she post dates them and all she has to say is that there's no money in the bank. But the money she's paying us w/isn't even hers! No?



If most of our pay comes from our tips, why is our tip money

not in the bank? She takes it and spends it. Just recently we were not paid for almost two weeks, and she was away on her 3RD VACATION in 6 mnths. Is this even legal?



Also, if we put in a pay check from her and it bounces, is she required to pay the fees? Also, docking pay w/ no warning/notification, legal or not? How can we tackle this as a staff legally? Please help!



Thank you!!For the lawyers out there!!! I need your guidance!?
TIP APPROPRIATION: An employer may not demand or accept any portion of an employee's tips, nor may an employer require that tips be pooled or that tips received by service employees be shared with non-service personnel.



Provided that it is disclosed to the patron, a restaurant owner may share a portion of the percentage service charge added to the bill for a banquet or other special function with non-service personnel and may reserve a small handling charge therefrom to the restaurant.



If you want to make a complaint, here is the form to do it:



http://www.oag.state.ny.us/complaints/pd鈥?/a>



My source is below...
This is confusing.

As an ex food server, the only tips my boss had was what was due to me off credit charges and they were given to me after verify my shifts money.

It is legal to pay a smaller amount of hourly wage with the percentage rate determined by the government of expected tip amounts in your state/area, but still has to meet the minimum wage. Complicated!

If you have proof, then report her to the labor board and find another job because if they close her (sounds very possible) then your butt is covered.For the lawyers out there!!! I need your guidance!?
This restaurateur needs to be reported to the New York Department of Labor. Can you and other co-workers substantiate your complaints?
You should quit and report the theft to the city and the IRS.For the lawyers out there!!! I need your guidance!?
I echo Bill G., report the owner right away, like yesterday!

The Labor board covers these issues nicely and would be glad to hear from you and everyone this has happened to.



Also, your Attorney General's office would also be of assistance.



Hurry!