For your reading pleasure

National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she complained about her supervisor on Facebook. Read Steven Greenhouse’s New York Times article reporting on the concerted action here.

Also, here’s a question we have received at the Workers’ Center: can an employer charge an employee for the credit card fee if the employee’s tip is charged to the customer’s card? Yes, in New York it is legal to deduct the credit card company’s fee (which is usually from 1.5 to 3% of the amount charged, depending on the business’s credit history) for the amount of the tip.

So, for instance: you leave a $10. tip on your credit card. The employer pays 2% of the charged amount to their card company. The server would pay 2% of their charged tip, or 20 cents, for their share of the fee. An article on the CBS Business Network explains how various states deal with this.

Yet another reason to leave a cash tip for your server.