Restaurant Workers Shorted?

“Overwhelming numbers of restaurant workers reported they had been cheated of money they are owed in wages and tips, as well as their break time and personal time.”

In a new survey of 337 employees of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in San Diego County, more than three-quarters reported their employers had illegally shorted them on wages or tips during the past year. One-third of those surveyed said wage theft is a regular part of their jobs.

The pilot study, "Shorted: Wage Theft, Time Theft and Discrimination in San Diego County Restaurant Jobs," was released today by the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI) and the San Diego State University Department of Sociology.

“Employees of restaurants across the San Diego region are subject to wage theft and other violations of labor law,” said Jill Esbenshade, sociology professor and lead investigator. “In this pilot study, overwhelming numbers of restaurant workers reported they had been cheated of money they are owed in wages and tips, as well as their break time and personal time.”

Wage theft means withholding pay that is legally due to employees. Among the forms of wage theft reported in the survey were:

• Requiring workers to work without pay before clocking in or after clocking out
• Failure to pay overtime rates, deducting from paychecks for damages or cash register shortages
• Paying less than minimum wage, sending workers home early without compensation
• Diverting any part of workers’ tips to managers

In addition to wage theft, other key findings in the study include:

• Eighty-four percent of survey respondents reported violations of their right to meal breaks or rest breaks. Almost a quarter (23 percent) said restaurant managers had made them falsely record unpaid meal breaks when they worked through the breaks.
• Seventy-Eight percent of respondents have gone to work sick, injured or in pain. Only 11 percent have any paid sick time.
• Almost 2/3 get their work schedules less than a week in advance. Only 3 percent said they have a set schedule.
• Chaotic scheduling robs employees of the ability to control their personal time.
• Among survey respondents, the most frequent wage theft was reported by women, Latinos, older workers and “back-of-the-house” staff.
• White males are overrepresented in the choice positions at high-end restaurants.

“These findings offer a glimpse into one of San Diego’s largest and fastest-growing employment sectors, the restaurant industry,” said CPI Research Director Peter Brownell. “These employers are breaking the law. Policy changes are needed to provide the resources and tools to strengthen enforcement of the laws on the books.”

The survey, conducted in March and April of this year, included 337 respondents who work at more than 160 restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in San Diego region. The research also included 30 in-depth interviews and observational data collected at 40 high-end restaurants.

“People don't understand the toll this takes on restaurant workers, having our wages stolen," said Kadie Durocher, who has worked in San Diego restaurants for almost 30 years. “I knew one person who was evicted. I am raising my two children on these wages and when this wage theft happens to me it's stealing from them."

The study can be downloaded at the Center on Policy Initiatives website.