A union that’s organizing Waffle Houseworkers filed a petition with the Labor Department on Monday, asking federal officials to investigate the iconic chain’s policy of deducting mandatory meal costs from workers’ paychecks.
Waffle House takes at least $3 for each on-shift meal out of workers’ pay, whether they end up eating it or not, according to the petition from the Union of Southern Service Workers. The USSW called it “especially alarming” since many workers are paid a tipped sub-minimum wage “as low as $2.90 per hour,” not including gratuities.
I found this a bit confusing, but I think the core of this is really that Waffle House staff don’t get a choice on whether or not they buy a meal during their shift. Is that right?
I kind of got that gist from the article, but nothing super clear. It said that employees pay for the meal whether they eat it or not, which if you ordered food and didn’t eat it, that’s kinda on you. I think it should be saying that they are charged for the meal whether they ordered it or not, if that’s what is happening.
Basically, yes. They’re forcing you to purchase food, whether you want it, intend to consume it, or get to consume it.
And FWIW in the restaurant industry meal breaks are usually not a thing, so it is very common to order food and just have to scarf it down whenever you’re not using your hands or in front of guests. I used to unwrap, consume, and dispose of the packaging for a sandwich in the time it took me to walk from the door to dry storage.
Edit: also IIRC wage deductions are usually illegal unless for uniforms or ordered by a court. This is probably an easy case.