July 2022 a law was passed in Kentucky for restaurant owners and corporations to make mandatory tip sharing for servers.  Servers who make 2.13 a hour are now helping to pay the salary of other employees.  A general practice has always been to tip out persons such as the bartender, food runners and bussers depending on your sales and monies made from tips. This is no longer our choice.

Landys Corporation, Joe's Crab Shack, implemented this practice August 31, 2022, taking 1% of total sales for bartenders and 2% total sales for hosts/bussers.  They immediately lowered the pay of hosts and bussers from 13.00 per hour to a much lower tip sharing wage with servers paying the difference.  At the end of a servers shift, the money is automatically taken.  This money is taken for the whole shift even if a host/busser and bartender worked 3 hours, 6 hours or not at all.  Are employees being paid when not working?  Who is receiving the money taken from servers?

Turning to Human Resources for answers, I was quickly asked if I was a manager, which I am not.  I was told since I am "just an hourly employee"  they would not discuss this me.  Yes!  "Just an hourly employee"  The Director of Operations answer to this was to tell employees to get over it.  This is unacceptable. 

Continuing to do research. I reached out to Governor Bershear's office about this new law.  Above is a picture of the response received.   Lawmakers passed this law with no consideration to the impact it would have on the lowest paid employees in the State.  With this new law in place, a server who makes 2.13 a hour and has a mandatory tip share of $30.00 and works 25 shifts a month will be paying out $750.00 a month/$9000.00 per year.  This money being taken from people who are trying to support their families,  go to college or just trying to earn a wage to survive.   

Please help us open the eyes of Kentucky politicians.   Sign this petition and contact Governor Bershear's office.   This law can not stand.  Corporations worth millions should not rely on their lowest paid employees to pay for other employees salaries. 

Thank you.