for those who have been following my owner-stolen tips saga....
When I was fired over the bs i mentioned..there was a mass exodus of 5 people. the only 2 people remaining were illegally working there: one was here entirely illegally..the other is here on a work visa, but SOLELY for work as a professor.
Even though it would lower my cut, one of the main reasons i reported the theft was to get THEM paid better. the owner was taking complete advantage by only paying them 10/hr and 11/hr, respectively..stealing their tips..and not paying overtime.
for the 11/hr professor, OT wouldnt have been paid out anyway, bc he only worked weekends. i mentioned that there was a "hispanic" there that i was more focused on getting money to than the others bc he was being unfairly paid due to "draw your own conclusions".
the dept of labor guy IMMEDIATELY said, "oh no we dont care abt immigration status at all, and do not work toward deportation. unfortunately, however, by law..we can only enforce payment of up to 7.25 minimum wage, and potential OT payment."
the other guy, the professor, wanted to speak in person today..and asked me out for drinks. i said sure, intrigued. he went on to tell me that he and the hispanic guy had been FIRED, essentially bc the owner was trying to cover his own ass.
i had warned this guy prior that he should quit. 2 people running an entire restaurant, esp for that kind of pay, andd working illegally..bad combo. but i assured him, AND kept my word that i wouldnt draw attention to his situation. i also didnt KNOW he was working illegally, to EVEN report this at the time.
he told me today that me "trying to harm the owner and his family was affecting a lot of other families." I said ok, first of all..i am so sorry that that happened to the hispanic guy and that you're worried. also:
- i take exception to the word "harm", and it makes me wonder at your allegiance. i am trying to get paid, fair and square
- i mentioned your names bc he asked who worked there
- i also mentioned your names bc i wanted to get yall paid, even tho it would lessen my payout
- you should be mad at the owner, not me..i am well within my rights to report the theft of our wages
- i hate to say it, but..u went into the arrangement illegally, so you should have known there is potential for this regardless
- i did not report you, nor will i
- the cat is out of the bag and in the government's hands now..so i cant put it back in the bag. additionally, if you dont report your earnings, they could look into that, for fraud
- i warned you to quit
- the guy assured me there was no link btwn the agencies.
now for my questions:
- was the dept of labor guy lying to me abt the link btwn agencies?
- was this other guy coming to me and roundabout asking me to somehow drop this, somehow sent as an intimidation tactic by the thieving owner?
- if it was an intimidation tactic by the owner, should i report the interaction?
- if i DO report the interaction, will it cause further deportation issues for this guy now too, even if i dont mention his status?
- he mentioned that a post i was positive i had made private was screenshot by someone i thought was a friend, and passed around. the screenshot was of me telling my friends i was on the path to justice with the tips and was so excited. it mentioned no names or deportation issues.
- the guy who screenshot it is relatively close to the family, and all i know is..he did not DIRECTLY show the professor..someone else did. my guess is that the screenshotting guy showed the owner..who showed the professor, and fired him. this leads me to believe this may be intimidation.
- it is unknown how the hispanic guy was reported to immigration. could it be the owner did it himself, to cover his own ass?
any help is welcome and appreciated!
Even though it would lower my cut, one of the main reasons i reported the theft was to get THEM paid better. the owner was taking complete advantage by only paying them 10/hr and 11/hr, respectively..stealing their tips..and not paying overtime.
for the 11/hr professor, OT wouldnt have been paid out anyway, bc he only worked weekends. i mentioned that there was a "hispanic" there that i was more focused on getting money to than the others bc he was being unfairly paid due to "draw your own conclusions".
the dept of labor guy IMMEDIATELY said, "oh no we dont care abt immigration status at all, and do not work toward deportation. unfortunately, however, by law..we can only enforce payment of up to 7.25 minimum wage, and potential OT payment."
the other guy, the professor, wanted to speak in person today..and asked me out for drinks. i said sure, intrigued. he went on to tell me that he and the hispanic guy had been FIRED, essentially bc the owner was trying to cover his own ass.
i had warned this guy prior that he should quit. 2 people running an entire restaurant, esp for that kind of pay, andd working illegally..bad combo. but i assured him, AND kept my word that i wouldnt draw attention to his situation. i also didnt KNOW he was working illegally, to EVEN report this at the time.
he told me today that me "trying to harm the owner and his family was affecting a lot of other families." I said ok, first of all..i am so sorry that that happened to the hispanic guy and that you're worried. also:
- i take exception to the word "harm", and it makes me wonder at your allegiance. i am trying to get paid, fair and square
- i mentioned your names bc he asked who worked there
- i also mentioned your names bc i wanted to get yall paid, even tho it would lessen my payout
- you should be mad at the owner, not me..i am well within my rights to report the theft of our wages
- i hate to say it, but..u went into the arrangement illegally, so you should have known there is potential for this regardless
- i did not report you, nor will i
- the cat is out of the bag and in the government's hands now..so i cant put it back in the bag. additionally, if you dont report your earnings, they could look into that, for fraud
- i warned you to quit
- the guy assured me there was no link btwn the agencies.
now for my questions:
- was the dept of labor guy lying to me abt the link btwn agencies?
- was this other guy coming to me and roundabout asking me to somehow drop this, somehow sent as an intimidation tactic by the thieving owner?
- if it was an intimidation tactic by the owner, should i report the interaction?
- if i DO report the interaction, will it cause further deportation issues for this guy now too, even if i dont mention his status?
- he mentioned that a post i was positive i had made private was screenshot by someone i thought was a friend, and passed around. the screenshot was of me telling my friends i was on the path to justice with the tips and was so excited. it mentioned no names or deportation issues.
- the guy who screenshot it is relatively close to the family, and all i know is..he did not DIRECTLY show the professor..someone else did. my guess is that the screenshotting guy showed the owner..who showed the professor, and fired him. this leads me to believe this may be intimidation.
- it is unknown how the hispanic guy was reported to immigration. could it be the owner did it himself, to cover his own ass?
any help is welcome and appreciated!
41-45, F
