BUDA, Texas (KXAN) – A popular restaurant in Buda, Texas, is facing backlash over a former policy concerning employee tips.
News of the controversial tipping policy at Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ broke earlier this week, after a screenshot of the restaurant’s alleged rules went viral on Twitter.
The screenshot appeared to indicate that tips would be withheld from employees who broke certain rules — in some cases for an entire week or pay period.
The owners, however, told Nexstar’s KXAN that the policy has since changed.
What was the policy?
A woman claiming to be a former employee told KXAN tips were taken at the management’s discretion. When they were taken, they’d be taken for the entire week of the employee’s offending incident, she said.
According to the viral tweet circulating on social media, employees could have their tips taken away for a number of reasons, including: showing up later than 5–10 minutes before a shift, especially without calling to let the management know; not showing up for a shift; getting a write-up during a shift; getting fired; or quitting without providing two weeks’ written notice.
Restaurant owner Miguel Vidal confirmed that was indeed the policy at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, but it hasn’t been regularly enforced in years.
“That was a screenshot of our handbook that we wrote in 2013 with the policy going in place in 2015 or 2016,” Vidal said.
Vidal further claimed that withholding tips was a last-resort measure.
“They got three verbal warnings and a write-up before anything was even discussed,” Vidal said.
Restaurant workers at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ pool and split their tips equally — a policy that Vidal said was meant to encourage everyone to pull their own weight.
“Create an equal opportunity for everyone to make the money without someone just kind of taking advantage within the team,” Vidal said.
An attorney’s perspective
David Langenfeld, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law, said tips can’t be kept from an employee for any reason.
“You cannot exclude employees from the tip pool to discipline them,” Langenfeld said.
Langenfeld said the Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted by Congress in 1938. It established overtime pay and a federal minimum wage, which today is $7.25 an hour.
“The exception is for tipped employees. They can be paid $2.13 an hour, so long as the tips they receive bring them up to at least minimum wage,” Langenfeld said.
Vidal said his employees are paid at least minimum wage. He said most average between $9-$16 an hour with tips included.
Still, Langenfeld says regardless of pay, tips can’t be kept from an employee.
“Even if the employee is paid minimum wage, the tips still belong to the employees and cannot be withheld,” Langenfeld said.
How has the policy changed?
As of a few days ago, Vidal said the restaurant updated its policy. Now, there’s nothing that prevents an employee from getting tips.
Vidal and his wife, Modesty, put out a statement on the restaurant’s social media pages along with the updated tip policy.
“All employees are paid a minimum of $8+ tips when hired and training is complete,” the post read, in part. “This post includes our *UPDATED* tip policy. We can only continue to learn, adapt, and try do better as we grow.”
The couple recently expanded their south Austin food truck location to a new storefront in downtown Buda.
Vidal said the transition has been a lot to juggle, but he understands the policy should’ve been updated sooner.
“It’s something that should have been paid attention to more,” he said.
