Employee Freedom or Employee Injustice?

The Mississippi Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, establishing a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. While it seems that most businesses in Oxford abide by this law, many restaurants and bars might be conducting their operations differently.

The average student in Oxford looking for a part time job yearns for a bartending position on the Square. The job requires little to no experience and the pay can be substantial on a busy night. On a slow night however, employees see little benefit from working long hours.

“Some days I will work for five hours and make nothing and other days I might work for three hours and earn over $200,” said Adam Skoog a bartender at The Levee. “In the end it all evens out.” 

Whether these wages eventually “even out” or not, this payment method is illegal according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is required for all employees in the state of Mississippi to earn a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In some cases for tipped employees who make over $30 in tips a month, employers are allowed to pay their employees a wage of $2.13 per hour only if they cover the standard minimum wage in that hour in tips. Al Hope, the Director of Human Resources in Oxford had this to say,

Lafayette County Courthouse

“I am not aware that such activity takes place in Oxford, employees must earn a minimum wage salary. Working for no salary equates to volunteering,” said Hope.

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards. According to section 203 of the Fair Labor Standards Act,

“The term employee does not include any individual who volunteers to perform services for a public agency. If the individual receives no compensation or is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee to perform the services for which the individual volunteered.”

The Cellar

"The Levee", "The Cellar" and "The Round Table" are all owned by Griffin Tanner. While it seems that Tanner pays his employees strictly off the tips they make, most of his workers lack experience and credentials to serve in the business.

“Basically I just needed to know a good amount of people in Oxford to bring in more business, other than that I needed no other qualifications or even a license to bartend,” said Skoog.

According to the Mississippi office of Alcoholic Beverage Control, a license is not required in order to bartend in the State of Mississippi.

“The law is different in every state but in Mississippi we require that the employee is at least twenty-one years of age and has no criminal record,” said Fred Johnson of the Alcoholic Beverage Control office in Mississippi.

The Round Table Restaurant and Bar

Griffin Tanner has been the owner of the Levee and Cellar for over eight years and with the opening of the Round Table last fall, these three popular bars on the square have made their share of good money. Griffin graduated from Ole Miss in May of 2002 and has definitely brought good business to the square, developing a group of devoted employees along the way.

“Griffin has been great to work for over the years and sometimes the pay is great, other times it is not, but I can not complain because this part time job is ideal for college students,” said Keaton Williams a bartender at the Levee.

Skoog describes this payment process and one could only relate this to a lemonade stand because at the end of the night the bartenders pour out the total tip money and divide them accordingly amongst each other.

“He is required to give all of his employees paychecks even if they are worth nothing, our wages are strictly earned from tips,” said Skoog.

These operations appear to have gone unnoticed to the Mississippi department of Labor due to the lack of recorded documentation by Griffin himself.

“When I was hired by Griffin I did not have to fill out any paperwork,” said Skoog.

The International Revenue Service requires all new employees to complete W-2, W-4 and I-9 forms in order to be hired. The W-2 form is used to report wages paid to the employees and the taxes withheld from them. This piece of documentation is non-existent at each of his three bars.

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards. According to section 203 of the Fair Labor Standards Act,

"The term employee does not include any individual who volunteers to perform services for a public agency. If the individual receives no compensation or is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee to perform the services for which the individual volunteered."

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