Stolen Tips & Unpaid Commissions: Your Money, Your Rights
Fight back against tip theft and commission withholding with federal and state law on your side.
Federal Law Protections
If your boss has been dipping into the tip jar, that's a clear federal violation of 29 U.S.C. § 203(m). Under the FLSA, workers can sue tip-stealing employers to recover the misappropriated tips plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, and even additional civil penalties for each violation.
In short, "stolen" tips are illegal, and you're entitled to every penny customers intended for you – no exceptions.
If you and your co-workers have been cheated, you can even band together in a collective lawsuit to fight for everyone's hard-earned gratuities (strength in numbers!).
However, don't lose hope: that unpaid commission might still be illegal under your employment contract or state wage laws, and if not getting it pushes your pay below the federal minimum wage, then the FLSA does kick in.
Essentially, the law says if you did the work and made the sale, you deserve the pay. Many state laws even define earned commissions as wages that must be paid, so you absolutely have the right to collect what you're owed.
If an employer has been stiffing you on commissions, there's a good chance other team members are in the same boat – together you all could have a strong claim to recover your rightful earnings.
Bottom line: you don't have to swallow the loss – there are legal avenues to collect every dollar you earned.
Some State-Specific Examples
California
California has some of the nation's toughest laws protecting tipped and commissioned employees. Under California Labor Code § 351, any tip left for an employee belongs 100% to the employee – bosses (and even supervisors) are strictly forbidden from taking or keeping any part of those gratuities.
Likewise, if you earned a sales commission in California, it's considered wages you're owed – if your commission agreement has no valid forfeiture clause, you're generally entitled to receive unpaid commissions even after leaving your job.
In plain English: California law basically says "pay up!" to employers who try to shortchange workers.
If you and your co-workers in CA have been missing out on tips or commissions, you're not alone – many groups of employees here have joined forces to demand what's theirs under the Golden State's strong worker protection laws.
New York
New York's laws are very worker-friendly on these issues. New York Labor Law § 196-d flatly prohibits any employer (or their agents) from demanding or accepting any portion of an employee's gratuities – your tips are yours, not the house's.
And when it comes to commissions, New York treats those much like regular wages: once a commission is earned under your agreement, it's legally considered wages that must be paid in full and on time.
The Empire State doesn't tolerate games with workers' pay.
If your boss in NY has been withholding your earned tips or commissions, you have strong legal tools to get that money back. In many cases, multiple employees in a New York workplace team up (sometimes through a class action) to hold a scofflaw employer accountable.
You've worked hard for those tips and sales, and New York law is on your side to make sure you get every dime.
New Jersey
The Garden State stands firmly on the side of workers when it comes to tips and commissions. New Jersey law makes it crystal clear that tips belong to the employee – your employer can't keep any of your tip money (and yes, retaliating against you for reporting tip theft is illegal too).
On the commission front, New Jersey recently upped the ante: the state's Wage Payment Law now explicitly recognizes commissions as wages, and a 2025 NJ Supreme Court ruling allows employees to recover 200% of any unpaid commissions as liquidated damages (double the amount owed), plus attorneys' fees and costs.
That means if you and a few sales colleagues in NJ haven't seen your commission checks, your employer could owe you double what they withheld – talk about an incentive for them to pay up!
New Jersey isn't shy about punishing wage theft, so you have powerful leverage to demand what's yours under state law.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania might not have a flashy state tip law, but it still has your back. The state generally follows federal rules on tips – which means employers cannot keep your tips and must ensure you get at least the required minimum wage (Pennsylvania's tipped minimum wage is aligned with federal, with a slightly adjusted tip credit).
On commissions, Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL) has long treated earned commissions as wages that must be paid once the conditions of your commission agreement are met.
If you've hit your sales targets and fulfilled the terms required for a commission, that commission is your wage – and nonpayment can put your employer in legal hot water.
While Pennsylvania doesn't automatically award double damages like NJ, courts can still impose extra penalties if an employer willfully or in bad faith withholds your pay.
Don't let a Keystone State employer tell you "tough luck" – you have every right to demand the pay you earned under PA law, whether it's your tips or your commissions.
Illinois
In Illinois, the rule is simple: if you earn it, your employer must pay it. State law outright forbids employers from keeping any portion of an employee's tips – all those tips belong solely to the employee who earned them, and it's illegal for any manager or supervisor to take a cut.
Illinois also makes clear that commissions are wages, too. Under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, all final compensation (including any earned commissions) must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payday when an employee leaves a job.
So if you quit or get fired and you have commissions due, your boss can't drag their feet – they're legally obligated to cut that check promptly.
Illinois law even provides for stiff penalties to punish willful wage theft; in some cases, an employer who intentionally withholds wages can be hit with up to triple the amount of damages, plus your attorney fees.
The Land of Lincoln doesn't take kindly to wage thieves. If you suspect your tips or commissions were swiped in Illinois, you have strong legal ammo to get your money back – and potentially more. (Imagine the look on your employer's face when they realize they might owe you three times what they tried to cheat you out of!)
Florida
Florida law generally follows the federal baseline on tips and commissions. Employers in Florida can take a tip credit (currently up to $3.02 per hour off the state minimum wage) as allowed under the FLSA, but only if the employee actually keeps all their tips and still earns at least the full minimum wage once tips are added.
In other words, your tips are your property in Florida too – managers and owners can't take a cut or include non-tipped staff in a tip pool without forfeiting the tip credit.
If a Florida employer runs an invalid tip pool or skims tips for themselves, they lose the right to claim the tip credit and must pay the employee the full Florida minimum wage directly.
As for commissions, Florida doesn't have a specific state statute that mandates commission payout, but a promise is a promise: if you have an agreement (even a verbal one) that you'll earn commissions, that agreement is legally enforceable in Florida.
Don't let a boss in Miami or Orlando tell you otherwise – if you earned those commissions (or tips), you have every right to claim them. We've seen plenty of Florida employers try to skirt the rules and get a nasty surprise when their employees band together to take legal action.
You work hard in the Sunshine State's heat – your money should be working for you, not lining your boss's pockets.
Take Action – Get Your Hard-Earned Money Back!
Contact us today by submitting your information – let's hold your employer accountable, help you and your co-workers reclaim your stolen tips or unpaid commissions, and get you every dollar you worked hard to earn.
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