Do you know what the rights are as a restaurant employee? If you answered no, here’s a follow-up question. Why not? Restaurant workers rights are imperative to learn, as no one will advocate for them but you and your fellow staff. Your rights encompass how much your employer can pay you in minimum wage, how old you must be to work, and more.
Learn the basics of worker’s rights in the restaurant sector and get the fair treatment you deserve when on the job!
United States Restaurant Workers Rights to Know
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC has a series of laws to prevent discrimination. Here’s more information on the laws therein.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
If your restaurant employer learns about your genetic background, they can’t legally choose not to hire you or discriminate against you on the job for it. Even if you don’t have a disease but have abnormal genetic information, this law still protects you.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991
Under Section 102 and 103, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 gives you the right to a jury trial if you take your employer to court for an “intentional discrimination” case. You’re also eligible to be financially compensated if you win.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
EEOC rules apply to Title 1 of this act. Your restaurant employer can’t discriminate against you for any disabilities you may have.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Although pregnancy makes it difficult to work as a waitress, chef, or dishwasher in a restaurant for long, you still have restaurant worker rights until you take your maternity leave and beyond. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits your boss from discriminating against you based on your pregnancy. Once you give birth, you can’t be discriminated against for any medical conditions resulting from your childbirth or for the childbirth as a whole.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 501 and 505, your boss can’t legally discriminate against you if you have a disability under federal law.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Age discrimination is unfortunately an all too real phenomenon. However, it’s also illegal and has been since 1967 under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Once you’re over 40, this law protects you against your boss making hiring, work assignment, or firing decisions based on your age alone.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Since 1964, Title VII in that year’s Civil Rights Act has barred employers from discriminating against employees in all sectors on gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, national origin, religion, color, and race. If you’re discriminated against in the workplace and decide to sue your boss or a fellow restaurant employee, you’re protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 from retaliatory action.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963
Men and women deserve equal pay if they’re doing the same jobs, which often happens in restaurants. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 ensures it.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act
OSHA is a major United States law that even those with a passing knowledge of restaurant workers rights are usually aware of. This law, which went into effect in 1970, requires your restaurant employer to take precautions for a safe, healthy working environment.
They’re supposed to put up posters or signage from the Department of Labor mentioning what a restaurant worker’s rights are. They must also have first aid kits available and protective equipment as needed.
All employees are supposed to be trained on how to do their jobs safely, and your boss should also have a hazard reporting program if the workplace is unsafe.
States throughout the US have the option to create safety plans, which OSHA then rejects or approves. Besides the above rights, restaurant employees in the following states may have additional rights:
- Wyoming
- Washington
- Virginia
- Vermont
- Utah
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Puerto Rico
- Oregon
- North Carolina
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Minnesota
- Michigan
- Maryland
- Kentucky
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Hawaii
- California
- Arizona
- Alaska
Fair Labor Standards Act
The FLSA is another act with a lot of jurisdiction affecting restaurant workers and their rights. It dictates which working environments are safe, how old you can be to work in a restaurant (and elsewhere), and fair payment standards.
Hazardous Working Environments
While working in a restaurant has its dangers, employees under 18 can’t legally work on any assignments or in roles that require them to encounter hazards.
What is constituted as a hazard versus a non-hazard under the FLSA varies. For example, a restaurant employee younger than 18 can’t use power-driven equipment (like a mixer or slicer), meat-processing equipment, or bakery equipment.
Once they turn 18, they can operate this equipment without issue. In the meantime, they can safely and legally do tasks like washing dishes, preparing or cleaning up vegetables and fruits, and cashing bills. They’re also allowed to handle light cooking.
Youth Employment
Speaking of employees under 18, how old do you need to be to work in a restaurant, anyway?
Employees can be as young as 14. Those hired who are between 14 and 15 can only work for 40 hours a week when school is out and eight hours per day when there’s no school, like a holiday or weekend.
When younger employees have school, they can work just 18 hours a week and up to three hours a day. Further, you can’t schedule them earlier than 7 a.m. or later than 7 p.m. until June through Labor Day. Then, younger employees can work through 9 p.m. at the latest.
Fair Payment
The FLSA has protections for part- and full-time restaurant employees ensuring you get fair payment. Here is more information.
- The minimum wage for employees under 20 years old cannot be below $4.25 an hour within the employee’s initial 90 days of working for the restaurant.
- An employee who receives tips when working overtime should receive a wage that’s 1 ½ times minimum wage.
- If working overtime at a restaurant, employees earn 1 ½ times their standard pay an hour once they exceed 40 hours.
- If an employee’s wages would go below minimum wage after deducting for customer walkouts, employee uniforms, or cash shortages, the restaurant employer is acting illegally.
What Is Illegal to Do at a Restaurant?
Now that you know your restaurant employee rights, you should stay abreast of the following illegal situations.
Not Allowing Breaks
Employees are legally entitled to breaks in most states. While no federal laws require them, you should still get a rest period or lunch break of least 10 minutes to decompress, eat, and use the bathroom.
Not Paying for Overtime (Or Not Paying the Correct Rate)
If you work overtime and your boss tries to say it’s off the clock, they have no intention of paying you what you’re owed. Remember, overtime pay should be a higher hourly rate than standard work, so it’s just as illegal if your boss pays you for the overtime work but at the standard hourly rate.
Paying Late or Not at All
Is your boss continually late on your checks? You can forgive it once or twice, but if their tardiness becomes a regular occurrence, something illegal could be underfoot. The restaurant could be in trouble, so perhaps your boss cannot afford to pay you.
Regardless of their reasoning, you deserve the pay if you put in the work, whether you only work your standard hours or overtime. You should not continue working in the restaurant if your boss will not pay you and refuses to issue back payments for missed checks.
Referring to Employees as Independent Contractors
Please carefully read the contract you receive when the restaurant hires you. If the verbiage calls restaurant employees independent contractors instead of employees, the owner is trying to take away your rights.
This intentional misclassification allows the employer not to pay you for working overtime. You also won’t get access to healthcare, vision insurance, and other benefits as an independent contractor.
Stealing Your Tips
Your tips are yours alone, whether your customers give you $10 or $100. Mandating tip pooling, taking away tips, or telling customers not to tip are all examples of tip theft. Your boss also shouldn’t skim any money off the top of your tips.
What Do I Do If My Employee Violates My Rights?
Have you determined that your boss has violated your restaurant workers rights? This can be a stressful situation, as you’re unsure what your future at the establishment looks like and if you’re going to have to go to court.
Here are some pointers on how to handle matters coolly and professionally.
Begin Documenting the Issue
Documentation will give you a case, so create records of wage theft, skipped breaks, and other illegal activity on your boss’s part. For example, if you worked overtime but weren’t paid overtime hours, that much should be clearly illustrated in your check.
Reach Out to HR
You might decide to handle matters internally, bringing up the issue to HR. Show them the documentation you have on your boss’s illegal behavior.
Call the Department of Labor
HR isn’t there to protect employees’ rights so much as to keep the company running smoothly. That could leave you reticent to reach out, especially if you don’t think you’ll work for the restaurant for much longer.
You can always contact the Department of Labor instead, escalating matters with them rather than HR.
Contact a Lawyer
Depending on the extent of illegal behavior and how egregiously your rights were violated (as well as how much money you’ve lost in unpaid wages), you might decide to call an attorney. You should be able to receive a free consultation, but working with them beyond that will require payment.
However, a lawyer will be able to go after your boss and get you the money you didn’t receive from them.
Join a Union
Does your state have a hospitality union? You should join, as unions fortify your protections so you can work at a restaurant with a clear conscience.
Wrapping Up about Restaurant Workers Rights
Restaurant employee rights are critical to know, as they keep you safe when on the job. The laws pertain to how much you’re owed for:
- overtime,
- average wages,
- when you can take breaks,
- unsafe work environments,
- discrimination laws,
- and the required age of employees working for a restaurant.
Learn your rights, then share them with your coworkers so they know what protections they have.
