Q: I work in NJ as a server/bartender. Is it legal to make the servers pay the credit card fees of the restaurant?
I recently was told that it is illegal to make guests who pay in cash, pay credit card fees. I had nothing to with the terms of agreement between the bank and owners. Why would I be responsible for those fees?
A:
I do not necessarily disagree with attorney Dillon, but I think you were asking whether your employer can use your tip money to pay the credit card fees... and in my opinion, the answer is NO:
"...an employer is prohibited from using an employee’s tips, whether or not they have taken a tip credit, for any reason other than as wages or in furtherance of a valid tip pool. This includes a prohibition against the employer using an employee’s tips to pay any portion, however small, of the fee charged to the employer by a credit card company or other financial institution for the use of credit or debit cards in their businesses, including the processing of such credit or debit card transactions."
Source:
https://www.nj.gov/labor/worker-protections/myworkrights/tippedworkers.shtml#:~:text=No%2C%20an%20employer,be%20eligible%20for%3F
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