Existing law establishes certain requirements relating to gratuities paid to employees, including prohibiting an employer or agent from taking any gratuity that is paid to an employee by a patron or from requiring an employee to credit the amount of a gratuity against the wages due to the employee. Existing law requires an employer to keep accurate records of all gratuities received by the employer and requires that those records be open to inspection by the Department of Industrial Relations. Existing law makes a violation of those provisions by an employer a misdemeanor.

This bill would prohibit an employer or agent from prohibiting, or implementing a policy to prohibit, an employee of a restaurant from receiving any gratuity that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron. Because a violation of the bill’s provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.