Help: Minimum wage Question, I Think im being screwed!!!!

[Corey_Baker08]

My name is Corey Baker and I am 15 years old. I work at a Restaurant in Ohio and I have a few questions regarding wages. I am not very familar with Ohios Minor wage standards so I maybe completely wrong regarding this issue but please help me out.

I do not believe I make minimum wage by Ohio state law. I was always under the impression that as long as we made tips we did not have to be paid minimum wage. Well we do make tips, yet what gets me is that the tips we make are wrote down and taken off of our Total pay.

My paystub also has an amount of overtime I worked on it, which I was never aware that I worked any overtime it being a restaurant and all, I would just come in when it was time and clock out when it was time to leave. On my paystub it says I worked 11 hours Overtime and got paid $29.37 for it, which is also the same amount as my tips, do tips count as Overtime that should be taken off of my pay?

For Example This is my Paystub from my first bi weekly check:

Pay period ending: 3/27 Reg Hours:40 Overtime:11 Regular earnings 199.80

Overtime Earnings: 29.37 Total pay: 199.80 Fed. Inc. tax: 10.00 Soc. Security 15.28

State Inc Tax. - (None) City Inc Tax: - (None) Tips: 29.37 Net pay: $145.15

[rockymountaindem]

1. It sounds like you need to work a simpler job without tips!

I never had to worry about that.

On edit: It could be that because you're 15 (and I assume this is your first job) they think they can cheat you. On the other hand, if they do cheat you they could get in big trouble, so they're probably not doing anything wrong intentionally. Remember, if they don't pay you what you're owed, then the government can't deduct for Social Security and payroll taxes. By cheating you they're stealing from the government. The government doesn't like being taken for fools by restaurant owners (though if Halliburton does it they seem to look the other way).

[NMDemDist2]

2. they add in your tips so they can tax them, then they subtract it since

the tips aren't actually paid to you, it's an accounting thing

but the math isn't adding up for me either

better go ask the boss what's up

[Lisabtrucking]

3. I thought minors aren't allowed to work more then 20 hours during school

My son is 16 and he is only allowed to work 20 hours while school is in session. It sure does look like your getting riped looks like your only making 4.75 and hour.. I suggest you get a new job.

[jpgray]

4. Most servers get a claimed tips column in their pay stubs

Perhaps your employer just sticks claimed tips under overtime. Because if you worked 51 hours in two weeks, that shouldn't qualify for overtime.

[NYC]

5. No wonder you are confused:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm#Ohio

Ohio Minimum Wage Rates
OHIO
Basic Minimum Rate(per hour) Premium Pay After 40 hours weekly.*


State Law $4.25

Except, employers with gross annual sales from $150,000 to $500,000
$3.35

Except for employers with gross annual sales under $150,000 $2.80

*The overtime premium rate is one and one-half times the employee's regular rate, unless otherwise specified.

Do you know what your basic hourly rate is?

[jpgray]

6. Note his/her pay stub is from a two-week period, not a single week (nt)

[yewberry]

7. Ohio min wage for tipped employees is $2.125/hr

Yeah, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Where are your reported tips? I've worked in the industry off and on forever, and I can't remember the last time I had a check that big. Seriously, most of mine are under ten bucks (because they take the taxes for the tips out of your wages.) I'd ask whoever does the payroll to help you understand what's going on here.

[Corey_Baker08]

9. Well See it looks like the tips are are my over time

which is 29.37 and that is subtracted from my check.

[NYC]

10. If you are correct about that wage rate,

40 hours at $2.125 = $85.00 regular
11 hours at $3.193 = $35.12 overtime
Total Gross Pay = $120.12
Plus tips 29.37

She said her gross pay was around $199.50. This does not make sense.

Also, someone mentioned that this was a 2 week period. So, it doesn't make sense that she has 40 regular hours, and 11 overtime hours, since Ohio seems to define overtime as over 40 hours in one week.

I do agree that she should ask for an explanation from the employer's payroll department.

[Corey_Baker08]

11. *He-LOL

What never thought a guy would actually work? :P

[NYC]

12. I'm sorry.

I know a woman named Corey, but I think she spells it Cory.

At least you aren't suffering sex discrimination on the job. :)

[WillowTree]

8. #1 - You need to keep track of how many hours you work weekly.

That's just a good thing to do. You could have the most honest employer on the planet and mistakes can still be made. If they are, it will most often be the employee who needs to catch the error, so you will need to have a general idea how much your check should be in each pay period.

#2 - Talk to your employer and ask him/her to please explain the entries on your pay stub so that you can understand them. Being so young and a new employee to boot, he or she shouldn't mind your asking.

[FormerOstrich]

13. I think this is the deal....

I suspect that you worked almost 20 hours for 2 weeks for a total of almost 40 hours. Your actual hours were probably 39.96. The payroll program rounded the hours to 40.

My guess is you are making $5.00 per/hr.

You were paid 39.96 * 5 or 199.80. The overtime hours are probably arbitrarily entered (most likely always 11) and your lump sum tip money was added into overtime pay because the payroll program doesn't handle tip pay. Then they set up an after tax deduction for the tip dollars since you already had them in your pocket. Your company needs to buy a different payroll program or learn how to use the one they have.

I don't know what type of facility this is but in most restaurants $30 tips for 40 hours of work isn't very good. But don't feel bad...my first job was at a Tastee Freeze for $1 per/hour (which was below minimum wage) and no tips. But I finally advanced to working on many a lousy payroll program.

Congrats on your first paycheck!! You should be proud.