Hospitality law

Restaurant

General Employment Information

Most of the restaurants established employment policies as a code of conduct where

employee responsibilities are written in accordance with rules and regulations. Regarding

employee eligibility in American restaurants, it is necessary for the employer to complete

employment eligibility verification forms I-9 for American citizenship. If an employer hires a

non-U.S employee, then the employer should accomplish immigration reform and control act of

1996 which allows proper authorization to non-US workers to work in restaurants [ CITATION

Hr319 \l 1033 ].

The jobs are classified as general manager, assistant manager, line cook, dishwasher,

drive-thru operator, fast food cook, cashier, short-order cook, kitchen manager, food and

beverage manager, server, and executive chef. All these classifications are related to restaurant.

Every employee in restaurant is hired through proper recruitment and selection to avoid

discrimination at workplace.

In addition to employment classification, exempt employees are not entitled to get

overtime pay under the federal fair labor standards act (FLSA) and exempt employees are those

whose salary and job responsibilities met the requirements of the United States Department of

labor regulations. Full-time employees are those who work 40 hours per week and part-time

employees are those who work less than 40 hours per week.

Employee referral recognized as an internal method to find a job candidate. To make sure

effectiveness of employee referrals, restaurants execute equal employment opportunity

commission (EEOC) regulations. In this way, restaurants strictly followed civil rights and proper

administration towards employee referrals.

Almost every restaurant is required to maintain employee records. Restaurants are

responsible for notifying any immediate restaurant manager and make changes in name,

immigration status, the number of dependents, marital status, telephone numbers, home

addresses, and other employment required information. Thus, any changes in personnel records

should be recorded immediately so that benefits are allocated to desired employee.

In the restaurant industry, the job posting is commonly placed for internal hiring because

restaurant does reserve the right regarding job posting. Generally, there are a 90 days

probationary period of employees in a restaurant. On the other hand, probationary period may be

varied from one organization to another and it is based on agreement between employee and

employer. Regarding performance reviews, the employer review performance of first three

months of employment with restaurant. Thereafter, the performance reviews conducted bi-

annually and annually. The main factors of performance reviews contain quality of job

performance, cooperation, attitude, dependability, job description, and employee attendance.

If employee fails to follow disciplinary rules he/she may face various serious legislations

under worker’s compensation, retirement standards, family medical leave act of 1993, federal

anti-discrimination law, safety and health standards, and other federal contracts. Continuous

tardiness in reporting to work can drive disciplinary actions which may include discharge. If any

employee violates the restaurant policy then he/she can be terminated immediately. Any

employee found that use substance abuse or alcohol usage may be terminated at the spot. In

addition, employees who do not comply or abide restaurant’s accidents and safety rules may face

strict disciplinary actions and termination.

 If an employee wants to resign with employment with restaurant, he/she must request to

notify the restaurant manager regarding anticipated departure date and it must be 2 weeks in

advance. For this reason, a written letter or note should be given to restaurant manager for

resignation approval. The major elements of resignation procedure of employee in a restaurant

containing notice of resignation, expense reimbursement after resignation, payment in lieu of

resignation notice, communication, revoking resignation, and exit interviews. Furthermore,

frequent tiredness and absenteeism are against attendance policy of restaurant which may lead to

employee termination without giving notice. Therefore, it is necessary for every employee to

understand employee schedules by shift because any absence may lead to undue burden on other

employees.

The employee may take up to 2 weeks personal leave annually and 2 weeks medical

leave. Before hiring an employee in a restaurant, alcohol and drug testing can be taken place to

examine physical and mental fitness required for the job. Regarding uniforms, cook and chefs are

mandatory to wear uniform all the time with necessary precautions to make sure safe and

hygienic food for their customers. At last, employees may not get access, distribute, and

download material anytime in restaurant premises including smartphones as well as other

personal devices.

Compensation

First of all, restaurant owners are required to manage and pay taxes to internal revenue

services. According to internal service revenue, the expense to be deductible which is ordinary

for restaurant. The qualify expenses for a restaurant include insurance, rent, licensing fee,

employee wages, advertising, and depreciation of kitchen equipment. The limited liability

corporations and partnership firms are not required to file federal tax but IRS require to file tax
return under form 1065. The shareholders and owners of restaurant file separate tax returns. The

federal withholding tax includes federal income taxes, Medicare, and social security. If an

employee lives in a state that collects taxes, then the employee must liable to pay withhold taxes

under the jurisdiction. The social security tax is 6.2% whose annual income reaches $113,700

and 1.45% for Medicare.

Like other businesses, the restaurant business deducts legitimate business expenses.

Those deductions are capital expenses, advertising, operations, kitchen labor, server, and food

costs as well.

Under the fair labor standards act (FLSA), the employees who worked more than 40

hours a week must receive overtime pay in a workweek at a rate not less than time of their

regular pay. However, there is no limit in the act regarding number of hours work by employees

aged 16 and older. In addition, the act does not apply overtime pay for the holidays, Sundays,

Saturdays, or regular days of work until the overtime worked had been done on that day. This act

is applied on work week and it is fixed.

Most restaurants have weekly pay schedules for line workers but managerial and

executive-level positions get their salary in monthly schedules. Every state has different pay

schedules to pay its employees either monthly or weekly basis.

According to the research study the federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25.

However, some states are paying high salaries. Therefore, it can be said that every state has its

own salary increase pay because most of the restaurants increase salary based on performance

reviews. As above-mentioned factors of performance reviews increase overall productivity of the

restaurant in essential and adequate manner [ CITATION Cin18 \l 1033 ].

 There is a general rise in minimum wage especially in the restaurant industry across

Michigan, Florida, California, New York and 14 other states. However, some states removing

minimum wage exemption especially for tipped employees that’s why it is necessary to

understand with tipped minimum wage. The United States department of labor had defined

tipped employees that employees who regularly or customarily receive more than $30 per month

as tips. However, tipped employees are more than regular restaurant workers. It means restaurant

employees and owners are affected by tipped minimum wage [ CITATION All19 \l 1033 ]. Thus, tip

reporting is necessary to make sure equality at workplace but keep performance reviews

consistent. The employer of a tipped employee must have to pay $2.13 per hour as direct wages

[ CITATION Dol19 \l 1033 ].

Moreover, the work schedule posting gives fairness regarding the shifting of employees.

In this regard, predictive scheduling laws are constructed to protect employees regarding

unpredictable work schedules. Several jurisdictions have been taken place regarding execution of

predictive scheduling laws to ensure fair employment practices within restaurant industry and its

compensation policies. Thus, having employee shifts in advanced makes them productive and

committed to their jobs. In the end of employee policies, a total of five states of 26 cities of

United States offer paid sick leaves to their employees. However, restaurant has different

regulations regarding sick pay leaves. Some restaurants offer sick PTO with overall benefits

packages to their employees [ CITATION Jus181 \l 1033 ].

Other Special areas

The other laws of employee policies in restaurant industry include restaurant wages and the fair

labor standards act, equal employment opportunity commission, employing youths or either

minors, and Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).The management of restaurant must
focus compliance standards from hiring of employees to promotion. In this regard,

administration must be focus on regulatory framework of hospitality law. At last, forest

designated plan is not applied in restaurant industry.

 References

Akhtar, A. (2019). The $15 minimum wage was supposed end in a restaurant apocalypse. Here's

how 5 major cities proved the prophets of doom wrong. Retrieved from

https://www.businessinsider.com/restaurant-industries-impacted-by-wage-increases-in-5-

cities-2019-8

Aucoin, J. (2018). Why Restaurants Should Offer PTO Sick Time to Staff. Retrieved from

https://www.therail.media/stories/2018/3/26/why-restaurants-should-offer-pto-sick-time-

to-staff

Dol.gov. (2019). U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Retrieved from

https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips

Hr360.com. (2019). Termination Policies. Retrieved from

https://www.hr360.com/Termination/Termination-Policies.aspx

Janzer, C. (2018). A Guide to Holiday, Overtime, and Vacation Pay for Restaurant Workers.

Retrieved from https://upserve.com/restaurant-insider/restaurant-employees-need-know-

holiday-overtime-vacation-pay/