Honorable Maureen Moore, Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Mrs. Moore: Opinion No. O-6671 

Re: Authority of owner 

_ or manager of restaurant or cafe to 

deduct "walkout 

slips" from waitress' 

pay check. 

Your request this department's opinion on 

the following fact situation: 

"It has been called to our attention that 

several cafes and restaurants throughout the 

state are holding their employees liable for 

non-payment of customers checks - i. e. The 

waitress serves a customer his food and gives 

the customer his guest check, but the customer 

instead of going to the cashier and paying same 

simply walks out. 

"Under Articles 5155 et seq., Revised 

Civil Statutes, makes it the duty of each employer to pay its employee the wages arranged 

by him or her as often as semi-monthly. 

nUnder the law can the owner or manager 

of the testaurant or cafe deduct these walkout 

slips from the waitress' pay check? 

The Texas Semi-Monthly Pay Day Law, Articles 

5155, et seq., V.A.C.S., 1925, as amended, requires, 

among others, a mercantile establishment or any corporation "employing one or more persons . . . . to pay each 
Honorable Maureen Moore, Page 2 

of its employees the wages'earned by him or her as often 

as semi-monthly" and provides that those employers "wilfully failing or refusing to pay the wages of any employee 

at the time and in the manner provided in this Statute 

shall forfeit to the State of Texas the sum of Fifty 

($50.00) Dollars for each and every such failure or refusal". (Article 5157) 

A restaurant or cafe has been construed to be 

a mercantile establishment. Craig v. Bourdouris, 241 

Ill. App. 329. 

No citation of authority is necessary to sustain our opinion that the phrase "wages earned by employee" 

means the agreed or contract price promised by the employer to pay the employee. It means the entire sum. 

Provision for forfeiture or deduction, if 

reasonable, are binding upon the employee. "The validity 

of provisions for deductions or forfeitures depends upon 

their reasonableness. If unreasonable or oppressive, they 

will not be enforced." 39 C. 3. 163, Sec. 223. "Deductions 

from an employee's wages may be made to cover losses occasioned by his negligence or want of skill, but not for losses 

due to causes over which the employee may not, however, be 

penalized for violation of a rule which he does not know 

of and which he has not contracted to observe." 35 Am. Jur. 

503, Sec. 228. "A provision in a contract of employment that 

wages shall be forfeited in whole or in part for a violation 

of rules is, in the absence of statute, valid and enforceable. 35 Am. Jur. 504. Texas has no statute regulation 

such matters in contracts of employment. 

In view of the foregoing general rules of law, 

we are of the opinion that an employer and a waitress employee may enter into a valid contract whereby the employer 

is authorized to deduct from her salary or wages the amount 

represented by customers' checks issued by her and not paid. 

In the absence of such contract, the waitress would not be 

liable for such checks, and the amount thereof could not be 

deducted from her wages or salary. 

Yours very truly 

APPROVED MAY 7 1946 AlTrmEY GBNERAL OF TEXAS 

/s/ Carlos C. Ashley 

/s/ Arthur L. Moller 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

ALM:ms 

, 

Assistant 

This opinion 

consider&and 

approved in 

limited 

conference