Before I became an attorney and started to practice employment law, I worked as a waiter at various restaurants in San Francisco, California. Having spent 8 years in the food and beverage industry, I know that for many people tips are the primary source of income.

Tip-pooling (or tip-sharing) is common practice in the food and beverage industry. Many  restaurant owners and managers require waiters to share 10-30% of their tips with certain employees. California and federal courts have traditionally recognized that it is not illegal to require wait stuff to

The restaurant, bar and food service industry continues to be one of the most highly abused industries when it comes to complying with California Employment law.  Restaurant employees are often cheated out of their hard-earned wages, and employers are constantly subjected to costly wage-and-hour litigation which undermines the successes of the business.