Waiting for customers unpaid
If you had to be there, the hours count toward minimum wage and overtime, whether or not a customer walked in.
Salons & car washes NY · NJ · FL
Paid only when customers show up. The waiting counts too.
Salons, nail shops, car washes, laundromats and small storefronts often pay by the day, by commission or by the customer, and treat slow hours as unpaid. The law does not.
HOW THE PAY GOES WRONG HERE
Stylists, nail technicians, detailers, attendants. Here is what we see most.
Each of these may be a claim under federal law or the law of the state where you worked. The oldest weeks fall out of reach as time passes, so the clock matters.
Commission or piece pay below the minimum
Commission and per-service pay must still add up to at least the minimum wage for every hour worked, plus overtime after 40.
Supplies and “shortages” deducted
Deductions for polish, towels, chemicals, a broken tool or a short drawer are unlawful in New York. In New Jersey, withholding outside a short permitted list is unlawful. Under federal law, which governs Florida, a deduction for the employer’s own costs may not bring your pay below the minimum wage or cut into overtime.
Tips taken or pooled with the owner
Tips belong to the worker. No owner, manager or supervisor may keep a share.
No written pay notice
New York requires a pay notice at hire in English and, where the State provides a template, your primary language. Missing notices carry fixed damages.
WHAT TO SAVE
You do not need paperwork to start. This helps.
Your daily hours, including slow days
Appointment books, tickets or the shop’s own count
Pay envelopes or payment-app history
Texts with the owner about pay or deductions
Salons & car washes
You know your hours. We know what the law says you are owed for them.
Tell us where you worked, your schedule and how you were paid. A lawyer reads every message.
Tell us what happened (718) 484-7510