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Tip Pooling

Lawful Tip Pooling

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Tip pooling is a customary practice in the food service and hospitality industries, where employees’ tips are collected and redistributed among staff. While employers have the right to implement tip pooling systems, they must adhere to specific legal guidelines to protect employees’ rights. These laws are particularly important for restaurant staff including waitstaff, bartenders, and cleaning staff who rely on tips as a sizable portion of their income.

 

California’s Labor Code section 351 defines tips as voluntary gratuities left by customers for employees, in addition to the amount due for goods or services. These tips are the sole property of the employee. Tip pooling involves gathering tips earned by certain employees and dividing them among multiple staff members, often following an established formula. This practice can help balance earnings between peak and off-peak hours, reduce workplace competition, and alleviate workday strain.  

California law permits employer-mandated tip pools, provided certain conditions are met. Participants must be employees, and the pooled tips must be given to employees. Employers, managers, supervisors, and owners are prohibited from sharing in the tip pool. The amount required to be paid into the pool must not exceed a customary and reasonable share. Employers cannot use a “tip credit” system to deduct hourly wages based on tip earnings – all tipped workers in California must receive at least the state’s minimum wage in addition to their tips.   

If you or someone you know is not receiving pooled tips, contact us immediately.

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Associate

Christine Reyes

Dedicated to Protecting Employee Rights

Christine Reyes is an Associate Attorney with PLG. Ms. Reyes represents employees in a wide range of employment matters, including wage and hour claims, wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation. With a strong legal background, Ms. Reyes previously represented plaintiffs in personal and catastrophic injury cases, gaining valuable experience that has shaped her approach in advocating for employees facing workplace injustices.

Before becoming an attorney, Ms. Reyes worked as a personal injury paralegal and legal assistant, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the litigation process from intake to trial preparation, to resolution. This experience gave Ms. Reyes a unique perspective on case management, strategy, and helping clients navigate the complexities of the legal system. Ms. Reyes provides effective, compassionate representation and is committed to fighting for the rights of employees.

Ms. Reyes attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and earned her law degree from Santa Clara University, School of Law. Ms. Reyes is licensed to practice law in all California State Courts and in the U.S. District Courts for the Central District of California. Ms. Reyes is fluent in Spanish.

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Associate

SUSAN HUERTA

Ms. Huerta is a trial attorney at Protección En Acción. Licensed as an attorney since 2008, she has more than 16 years of legal experience dealing with highly complex employment litigation, class action lawsuits, and civil rights. Serving clients throughout California, Attorney Huerta has achieved significant success fighting for the rights of employees who have suffered serious rights violations, including discrimination, harassment, wage and hour disputes, wrongful termination, and more. A highly compassionate and personable attorney, Attorney Huerta genuinely cares about the issues facing her clients and has earned a reputation as a tireless advocate who aggressively pursues the most favorable outcomes on behalf of her clients. She also understands the stress and anxiety her clients feel regarding their situations, and provides dedicated and effective advice and support with the utmost care and respect to help them obtain the justice they deserve. She is fluent in Spanish and can communicate directly with many people who may have difficulty speaking English.

In 2020, Attorney Huerta was selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. She practices in the areas of Labor and Employment Law, including Class Action Lawsuits, Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault, Negligent Hiring and Supervision, and Civil Rights. Ms. Huerta is admitted to practice law in California, in the United States District Court for the Central and Northern District of California and in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

In her spare time, Ms. Huerta provides free legal assistance to battered women and unaccompanied immigrant children.

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Associate

JEFFREY JIMENEZ

Dedicated to Protecting Employee Rights

Attorney Jeffrey Jiménez is a Junior Associate Attorney at Protection in Action. Attorney Jeffrey Jiménez is dedicated to ensuring that employee rights are protected in the workplace, specifically in collective and representative wage and hour actions. Attorney Jeffrey Jiménez has experience in other employment matters, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination cases. Before joining full time, he worked as a paralegal for Proteccion En Acción along with several other public organizations and private law firms in employment law, special education law, and immigration law.

Mr. Jiménez attended the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and received his PhD from Southwestern School of Law.

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General Partner

CARLOS JIMENEZ

Extensive Experience and Knowledge

As a former partner and co-chair of his national class action practice group at a prominent employment defense firm, attorney Carlos Jiménez has extensive experience that he uses to benefit his clients. During his time as an employment defense attorney, Attorney Carlos Jiménez's practice focused on defending employers in California wage and hour class action lawsuits and PAGA matters, and he contributed to superior courts' efforts to streamline case management. class action lawsuit and PAGA. With this unique experience and knowledge, along with his extensive experience in state and federal courts, Attorney Carlos Jiménez is dedicated to preserving and protecting the rights of employees in the workplace.

Attorney Carlos Jiménez attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and received his Professional Doctorate from Loyola Law School. As a first-generation Mexican-American, Mr. Jiménez grew up in a blue-collar family and speaks fluent Spanish. Attorney Carlos Jiménez is admitted to practice law in all California state and federal courts and the California Court of Appeals.

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