1. !" Overtime: Overtime must be paid at a rate of at
least one and one-half times the employee's
regular rate of pay for each hour worked in ex-
cess of 40 hours per week. Tipped employees
who receive $2.13 per hour in direct wages are
also subject to overtime at one and one-half
times the applicable minimum wage, not one
and one-half times $2.13.
W O R K P L A C E S A F E T Y
!" The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
guarantees ALL workers a safe and healthy
working environment. Under OSHA, employers
are required to provide their employees with
work and a workplace free from recognized,
serious hazards.
F A M I L Y A N D M E D I C I N E
!" The Family and Medical Leave Act requires em-
ployers of 50 or more employees to give up to
12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligi-
ble employees for the birth or adoption of a
child or for the serious illness of the employee
or a spouse, child or parent.
Restaurant Workplace Project — Ann Arbor
E-mail: aarwp@umich.edu
E M A I L : A A R W P @ U M I C H . E D U
W O R K E R S ’ R I G H T S
UNIVERSITYOFMICHIGAN
R E S T A U R A N T
W O R K P L A C E
P R O J E C T — A N N
A R B O R
The mission of the Restaurant Workplace Project of
Ann Arbor is to ensure safe and fair employment in
all Ann Arbor restaurants for all restaurant workers,
including immigrants, supported by an informed
community of customers.
W A G E S A N D H O U R S C O N T ’ D
!" Minimum Wage: Workers are entitled to a mini-
mum wage --$5.15. These wages are due on
the regular payday for the pay period covered.
Deductions made from wages for items such
as cash shortages, required uniforms, or cus-
tomer walk-outs are illegal if the deduction
reduces the employee's wages below the mini-
mum wage or cuts into overtime pay. Deduc-
tions made for items other than board, lodging,
or other recognized facilities normally cannot
be made in an overtime work week.
!" Food Credit: The employer may take credit for
food that is provided at cost. This typically is a
deduction from an employee's hourly pay.
However, the employer cannot take credit for
discounts given employees on food (menu)
prices.
!" Tips: Tipped employees are those who custom-
arily and regularly receive more than $30 a
month in tips. Employees must be informed in
advance if the employer elects to use the tip
credit, the amount of tip credit to be claimed,
and the employer must be able to show that
employees receive at least the applicable mini-
mum wage when wages and tips are combined.
Also, employees must retain all of their tips,
except in the case of valid tip pool arrange-
ments.
Logo Painting contributed by: Dena Schutzer

2. W A G E S A N D H O U R S
!" The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guaran-
tees fair wagers and work hours for ALL work-
ers. It requires employers to pay covered em-
ployees who are not otherwise exempt at least
the federal minimum wage of $5.15 and over-
time pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular
rate of pay if an employee works more than
40 hours in a workweek.
!" Restaurants/fast food businesses with annual
gross sales from one or more establishments
that total at least $500,000 are subject to the
FLSA.
R E S T A U R A N T W O R K P L A C E P R O J E C T —
A N N A R B O R
F I N D I N G S
Findings from a survey of 81 immigrant restau-
rant workers in Ann Arbor, Oct. 2005 - April 2006:
!" The majority earn between $6.50 and $8.50 an
hour, although a few workers reported that they earn
less than minimum wage.
!" Nearly one in three workers said that they do not
receive the correct amount of pay from their em-
ployer. And nearly one in four said they were not
always paid on time.
!" Two thirds of immigrant restaurant workers said they
consistently do not receive overtime pay if they work
over 40 hours a week.
!" 42% said their employer paid them less than non-
immigrant workers who do the same work and have
the same qualifications.
!" Only 14% said they received healthcare benefits as
part of their employment.
!" Nearly 50% of immigrant workers in Ann Arbor res-
taurants work more than 40 hours per week, and
nearly 25% works more than 50 hours per week.
!" Restaurants can be hazardous a place to work. 60%
reported that there were fire hazards in their places
of work, nearly 50% said that at one time it got so
hot in the kitchen that it was a health hazard, and
between 22% and 38% reported some other kind of
safety hazard, such as slippery floors, missing
guards on cutting machines and inadequate instruc-
tions or training in workplace safety.
F I N D I N G S C O N T I N U E D
!" Nearly half said they had been cut seriously on the
job, and 36% had been burned seriously.
!" 20% said they had slipped and injured themselves
on the job.
!" One in four came into contact with toxic chemicals.
!" Nearly one in ten had chronic pain as a result of
their work.
!" 42% said they were dissatisfied with the treatment
they received when they were injured, and another
18% were “very dissatisfied.” (Only about one in
ten said they had never been injured on the job.)
!" 75% of the workers said they had experienced ver-
bal abuse from restaurant supervisors or other
workers.
!" Fewer than 25% workers said that all things consid-
ered, their treatment at the workplace was “very
fair” or “mostly fair.” 50% said that their treatment
was “somewhat unfair,” and more than one in four
workers said that their treatment was “mostly un-
fair” or “very unfair.”