I work at a restaurant and was charged by my boss for an item that was made by mistake because of me. Legal?

michr

depends on what state you work in (if in the US) but in almost every state this is illegal.........

EDIT:
actually under FLSA it is legal as long as the deduction does not take the hourly wage below minimum wage for every hour worked during the week in question.......
see:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs16.pdf
but thankfully most states do not allow this practice.

Sarah

We are only human, we make mistakes. Your boss should not fault you on that. I agree that you should maybe look for another job.

Tom J

It depends on the labor laws of the state in which you live. But it was probably not legal. The question is how much of an issue do you want to make it?

Mark H

well ur boss is not a very nice person.. i dont think you can be protected legally but that shouldnt have happened i would keep an eye on a better place to work at if i was you.

Thor

No, not legal but a lot of places try to that and similar things.

It is only legal if you work completely as a "subcontractor" totally responsible for your cash and over and under on your personal "bank", till. In that case essentially you buy from the restaurant and get a percentage of what you sell as well as tips.

It is similar to the illegal attempts to make employees make up for a shortage at a register. Again, that is only legal if you are running a separate bank and they have to give you any money that the register is over as well.

If you are employee that gets wages and they get the full profit, it is not legal.

He did make it a grey area because you took it and ate it. He should have charged only the cost, as he would not be entitled to profit off the mistake either. You could have also refused.

Many or most states are "at will" states for hiring and firing, you have the same right to leave. So he can let you go for any reason as well. So even if not legal, he could still let you go over it without recourse on your part. So fighting it might not be all that wise.

You might go along if it happens again but tell him you know that isn't legal and he might think twice about it.

But knowing he pulls that sort of thing you might want to look to work someplace else. It is easier to get a job when you have one.

Good Luck.

Mopar Muscle Gal

YOU made the mistake
why should your boss have to eat ( pay for ) your mistake

to prevent this from happening again?
be more careful

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