A menu of rights for New York restaurant workers
For any hours you work over 40 per week, you must receive overtime.
You may be entitled to an extra hour of pay when your work day spans more than ten hours.
A “service charge” or fixed gratuity belongs to the waitstaff.
You should be paid for any time you are required to be in the restaurant.
Your restaurant cannot charge you for customer walkouts or breakage.
You cannot be charged for buying or cleaning a uniform.
Your restaurant must pay you a minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour, or at least $5.00 per hour (effective January 1, 2011) if it takes a “tip credit.”
Restaurants can require waiters to split their tips from customers with other front of the house employees.
An employer can deduct from charged tips no more than the credit card processing fees assessed on the charged tips.
