Dancers who pay a house fee to start a shift, servers who turn over tips, and bartenders whose closing work goes unpaid all lose money in different ways. Georgia wage theft begins with that missing pay, not with the label on your job. We look at the shift, the pay record, and who kept the money.
Georgia wage theft can start with a house fee
Federal law requires covered employers to pay at least the minimum wage for hours worked. A tipped employer may count some tips toward that duty only if it follows the tip-credit rules in 29 U.S.C. § 203(m). Wages must reach the worker free and clear; a required payment back to the employer can violate that rule when it cuts into required pay. See 29 C.F.R. § 531.35. Georgia’s wage figures and the federal filing period are in the table below.
| Minimum wage | $7.25 Georgia's own minimum wage is $5.15/hour and does not apply to tipped employees or employers covered by the FLSA; FLSA-covered employers must pay the federal $7.25/hour. | Source, verified 2026-09-23 |
|---|---|---|
| Tipped cash wage | $2.13 | Source, verified 2026-09-23 |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 | Source, verified 2026-09-23 |
| Deadline to file | 2 years; 3 years if the violation was willful Value shown is the FLSA deadline. Georgia statutory wage claims have their own 2-year limit under O.C.G.A. 9-3-22; wage claims based on an express contract or quantum meruit may run longer. | Source, verified 2026-09-23 |
Dancers: “I paid the club to work”
A club calls the charge a house fee and collects it before or after the shift. The name does not decide whether the charge is lawful. We compare the money paid to the dancer, the hours worked, and any required payments to the club. A club that pays no wages cannot cure the problem by pointing to tips the dancer earned from customers.
Another charge may appear as a mandatory tip-out to a manager or to “the house.” Federal law bars employers, managers, and supervisors from keeping employees’ tips, whether or not the club takes a tip credit. That rule is in 29 U.S.C. § 203(m)(2)(B). A tip-out to another worker requires a closer look at who received it and how the club paid everyone in the pool.
WSB-TV reported a federal suit alleging dancers at an Atlanta-area club paid nightly house fees tied to their tips. The club disputes the allegations; the report does not establish what happened at another workplace. Our dancer wage claims page explains how we examine fees, tip-outs, and the “contractor” label.
Servers and bartenders: “My tips went somewhere else”
A server may see a tip-out on the checkout slip but never see how the pool was divided. A bartender may finish a shift after the clock stops or see a manager take a share of the jar. We compare the point-of-sale report with pay stubs, schedules, and the employer’s tip-pool rules. If the employer takes a tip credit, the pool has tighter limits on who may receive tips. If it pays the full minimum wage in cash, kitchen staff may be included under federal law. Managers and supervisors still may not keep employees’ tips.
The cash wage in the table is a floor for an employer using the federal tip credit. It does not let the employer keep the rest of a worker’s tips. Tips actually received by the worker must cover the allowed credit each workweek; if they do not, the employer must make up the shortfall. Our tip-pool guide explains the two kinds of pools.
What we check before a claim
First, we identify your job and each way money left your shift. Then we compare time records, pay stubs, tip reports, and any house-fee chart or written policy. We calculate what the records support and ask the employer for missing records when a claim calls for it. The Fair Labor Standards Act also makes a losing employer pay a reasonable attorney’s fee in a successful wage case. See 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). An employer that fights a valid claim can raise its own bill.
The table shows the federal wage-claim period. A possible Georgia statutory claim may have a different limit; we will check the legal basis before giving a deadline for it. A consultation is free. If the records suggest a claim, we explain the fee arrangement before you decide what to do.
Send us a recent pay stub, your shift dates, and any record of house fees or tip-outs for a review.