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One of things you want to avoid is inconsistent treatment of employees. You don't want employee A claiming that he or she was discriminated against because employee B had more vacation time. Written policies can help avoid this type of scenario (assuming they are followed consistently).
It sounds like your understanding of the law is solid. I agree that NY law probably applies. And the professional exemption probably does not apply if you are simply transferring images as per your superiors' instructions. Keep in mind that there's no way to give definitive answers without a thorough investigation (i.e., more than can be done via this kind of question and answer format).
If they've been keeping employee's tips for themselves, they probably owe you compensatory damages equal to what they've taken, plus liquidated damages equal to 100% of the compensatory damages. And because they stole tips, they probably lost the right to take a tip credit. So if they paid you less than minimum wage because you were a "tipped" employee, they probably owe you twice the amount they paid below minimum wage (once in the form of compensatory damages, once in the form of liquidated damages). And they probably also owe statutory fines of up to $10,000 for each employee. You should probably contact an experienced labor/employment attorney and consider your options.
It sounds like you are owed a good deal of money - probably twice the underpayment, plus statutory fines. The law is very strict on these issues, and heavily favors employees. You should contact an experienced employment/labor attorney.
The key question is whether your employee is paying you for your waiting-around time. If you have to sit there for 10 minutes after you're done waiting for your boss, you are entitled to be paid for that extra 10 minutes.
What you are describing sounds like sexual harassment. You should contact an experienced labor/employment attorney or file a claim with the EEOC.
There's no way to give a definitive answer to this question without considering all of the factors governing whether an individual is an employee or any independent contractor. Having said that, based on the limited information you've provided, it sounds like you are probably an employee.
Contact an experienced labor/employment attorney. Your employer needs to pay you for your work. If he doesn't he'll probably owe you twice the underpayment as well as statutory fines.
What do you mean by he cheats your paycheck? Federal and NY State laws are very strict when it comes to employers' obligations to pay their employees properly. If your employer is paying you less than what he's supposed to, or not paying you overtime that you're entitled to, there's a good chance he owes you twice the underpayment, plus statutory fines.
The lipstick aspect of your questions is vague, but if he's hassling you about your appearance, it's possible he's engaging in unlawful sexual harassment.
In NY your employer can fire you for almost any reason unless you have a contract or union agreement saying otherwise. There are some prohibited reasons for firing employees, such as discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, medical condition, disability, etc., or if the employee is fired as an act of retaliation for raising issues involving treatment or compensation of employees. If you think your termination might have been motivated, at least in part, by one of these unlawful grounds, you should contact an experienced labor/employment attorney.