Restaurant manager in PA on house tip split
It's been awhile since I've been on this site and I hope everyone is doing great!
Curious... in the state of Pennsylvania, I know of a front-of-house restaurant manager who puts herself on the house split and takes an equal share of tips with the servers. The restaurant is part of a place with other restaurants, family activities, shops, a hotel, spa, etc...
It's assumed that the manager makes a manager's salary and that the payroll department is aware (as it's been going on for years), but unknown whether the owner/executives are aware and condone this. The manager does usually bartend and occasionally waits on tables, but the vast majority of the work is done by the wait staff who get paid server wage (about $3/hour), or she helps out the kitchen staff (usually expediting the food). The credit card tips are split by the computer and are put on paychecks instead of being cashed out at the end of the shift (though I doubt this has any relevance).
Is this illegal, or just unfair to the wait staff? And what would be the likely consequences for the manager if this were reported to the state labor bureau... termination (or worse), simply changing it so the manager does not get tipped, or would this be turned over to the discretion of the executives?
Also, would there be consequences for the person reporting it, if someone were to report the manager? Could it be reported anonymously to the labor board (since it would not be likely to be anonymous if reported to HR unless perhaps a letter was mailed with no return address)?
-tmk
(PS - Admins, if there is a better way to categorize this, please do so... I feel that this is unethical at the least, but it may be better placed in a labor law category.)