I agree with the third answer given. It is not legal to impose a monetary loss on an employee that is not their fault. It would be like making a bank teller pay back a bank robbery loss because they were the teller who had the gun stuck in their face. Ridiculous by its very nature.

Good luck..

Mr. Marshall is correct. In California, an employer CANNOT make the server pay for a guest's unpaid check UNLESS the employer can prove the server was grossly negligent.

An employer can lawfully withhold amounts from an employee’s wages only when: (1) required or empowered to do so by state or federal law; (2) when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee to cover insurance premiums, benefit plan contributions or other deductions not amounting to a rebate on the employee’s wages; or (3) when a deduction to cover health, welfare or pension contributions is expressly authorized by a wage or collective bargaining agreement. (Labor Code §§ 221, 224)

The ability of employers to deduct amounts from an employee’s wages due to cash shortage, breakage, or loss of equipment is specifically regulated by the Industrial Welfare Commission Orders and limited by court decisions.

For more infromation, see http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/PayrollDeductions.pdf and http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_deductions.htm

As the server, your niece is really the only one who can get her customers to pay before they leave, so her bosses can make her responsible if and hwen that happens.

If your niece isn't in a union and doesn't have an employment contract, then she's one of the many "at will" workers who can be fired with no notice and for no reason and she can quit on the same terms. That's our American, pro-business system, masquerading as "fair," because both sides of the equation have the same "at will" rights.

In France, workers have real rights, but not here. If you want that to change, support candidates that promote pro-union card checks and other pro-labor policies, and vote against pro-corporate candidates (that means Republicans, who generally are on the side of business and against the workers).

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

An employer can set the terms of employment. The rule you describe is very common. It is imposed to prevent wait staff from allowing patrons to leave without paying as a method to increase tip revenue. Your niece can quit and take another job. She has that freedom in America.

Good luck to you and her.