Waitress Sues After Restaurant Owner Charges Her Credit Card Fees
Whenever a credit card is swiped someone has to pay a fee for that transaction. We often assume that the business owner will cover that charge, but that isn’t always the case.
A waitress in Illinois is suing her former employer after the credit card transaction fees were taken out of her paycheck.
Julia Hendrickson alleges that the Chicago Diner violated a number of “federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws,” reports WBBM 780. he claims that she was not paid minimum wage while performing un-tipped tasks before and after the restaurant opened. She is seeking compensation for the unpaid wages, as well as “compensatory damages” for the credit card fees taken out of her tips.
While most restaurants do not ask their servers to cover the cost of credit card transactions, some do. In the case of Hendrickson, the Chicago Diner started the policy in the middle of her employment.
The change was announced weeks after it took effect. Management said they were saving about $800 a month by transferring the fees to the waitstaff. They said the savings were needed after minimum wage rates changed.
Credit card transactions fees vary depending on the card, but are typically a percentage of the purchase, and there is often a minimum fee assessed. Often, the fee is a percentage of the purchase, typically from 1-5 percent, reports AllBusiness.com.
Most servers earn an hourly wage below minimum wage because they also earn tips. However, a few credit card transactions on a slow night may take a deep cut out of a paycheck. If you’re struggling to pay off your own credit card debt, or trying to stay out of chapter 7 bankruptcy, then you may need every dollar.
While it’s tough to tell the policy of a restaurant when you’re tipping, this is another example of how credit cards are integrated into so many different parts of our lives.