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Section 2 — Hours of Work and Payroll Practices

Pay Periods and Paydays

Employees are paid bi-weekly. The pay period begins Monday at 5:01 a.m. and ends the following Sunday at 5:00 a.m. Checks are available every other Friday and can be picked up at VooDoo Hut from a Manager. Paychecks are not issued early unless approved by a Manager, and are released only to you unless you authorize release to another party in writing to a Manager.

Overtime

Nonexempt (hourly) employees are paid overtime in accordance with federal and Texas law — time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a work week, calculated per FLSA rules for tipped employees.

All overtime must be authorized in advance by a Manager. All hours you actually work are paid, including unauthorized overtime — but working unauthorized overtime is a policy violation and will result in discipline. Never work off the clock, and no Manager may ask you to.

Training Pay

During training, each new employee is paid the current minimum wage rate. Training length is determined by a Manager — usually five to seven 4-hour shifts over one to two weeks.

Tipped Employees

  • All tips you receive, less the established tip-sharing pool arrangement, are yours. Tips from the shift pool are counted and distributed among pool participants at the end of the shift.
  • Managers, supervisors, and the Company never keep or share in employee tips. The tip pool includes only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips.
  • Credit card tips are paid out in cash and reported each pay period as income on your paycheck.
  • Tip credit notice: VooDoo Hut takes a tip credit as allowed by the FLSA. Your direct cash wage is at least $2.13/hr; a tip credit of up to $5.12/hr (never exceeding tips you actually receive) is applied to meet the $7.25/hr minimum wage. If your direct wage plus tips do not equal at least minimum wage for all hours worked, the Company pays the difference. All tips you receive are yours except for a valid tip pool. The tip credit applies only after you have been given this notice.
  • Service charges are not tips. Mandatory charges added to a bill — e.g., the 20% bottle-service charge — are service charges. Any portion distributed to staff is paid as wages through payroll (taxed as regular wages, not eligible for the tip credit or the federal tips deduction). Voluntary tips a guest adds on top remain tips.
  • Tip reporting & your taxes: VooDoo Hut reports all credit card tips to the IRS on your W-2. Cash tips (direct or from the pool) are your responsibility to record and report. Beginning with tax year 2025, federal law lets you deduct qualified tip income (and qualified overtime premium) on your return — VooDoo Hut separately reports qualified tips and overtime on your W-2 so you can claim it. Accurately declaring your tips is now money in your pocket.

Work Schedules

It is every employee's responsibility to check posted schedules. Schedules are posted in R365 (Restaurant365) and in both Back-of-House Breakrooms by a Manager each Friday for the following week. Schedule requests must be made in R365 prior to Friday for the following week — reviewed first-come, first-served, and not guaranteed. All holidays require a full "weekend" staff, even when the holiday falls on a weekday.

Schedules change often — check regularly. Do not change your schedule without a Manager's approval. VooDoo Hut reserves the right to shift to a monthly scheduling system.

Hours of Operation and Shifts

VooDoo Hut is open to the public 11:00 a.m.–2:15 a.m. Mon–Fri and 10:00 a.m.–2:15 a.m. Sat–Sun. Shift times vary by day — consult the scheduling app. If you work a double, clock out and take a break between shifts before clocking back in.

Rest and Meal Periods

All rest and meal periods are in accordance with Texas law.

Tipped hourly employees (bartenders, servers, barbacks): a paid 10-minute rest break for every four-hour period of work, counted and paid as time worked. Scheduled more than five hours: a 30-minute paid meal period. If you take longer than 30 minutes, clock out.

Breaks and meals may need to be rearranged based on guest volume — there should always be a server behind the bar. Don't plan a meal break within the first two hours of your shift or during high volume. Make sure your position has coverage before you break. Eat only in the Bar or Kitchen Back-of-House Breakrooms — never anywhere visible to customers — and clean up to Food Safety standards.

Non-tipped hourly employees: a paid 10-minute rest break for every four-hour period of work. Lunch/dinner breaks are unpaid — clock out for up to one hour.

Electronic Timecards

Nonexempt (hourly) employees must keep an accurate and complete record of attendance and hours worked. Electronic timecards via the POS system are official business records; they may not be altered without your Manager's approval and may never be falsified.

Clocking In

Arrive early enough to be dressed and ready to work by your scheduled start time, and clock in when you begin working. Don't clock in and then get dressed or take a break — and never perform work before clocking in or after clocking out. No breaks are authorized during the first two hours of your shift; eat before coming to work.

Payroll Deductions

Deductions are made each payday as required by law: federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and other items designated by you or required by law (including valid court orders). Adjust your federal withholding by submitting a new W-4 to a Manager. Each year you receive your W-2 for the prior year. If applicable, child support is deducted as mandated by the Texas Attorney General.

Wage Garnishment

Once the Company receives legal papers ordering a garnishment, it is required by law to withhold from your check until the full amount is withheld or legal papers from the court stop the garnishment — even if you have already paid the debt.

Direct Deposit

All employees are encouraged, but not required, to use direct deposit.

Discipline — "Strike Three, You're Out"

Warnings of misconduct include, but are not limited to, willful violations of policies or standards of conduct in this handbook, failing to do your best to perform your responsibilities, and safety or health code violations. A third written warning results in termination. You receive a copy of each warning and a copy goes in your personnel file, stating the date, a clear explanation of the misconduct, corrections required, the timeline to correct, and the consequence of not correcting.

Acts of Immediate Termination — Gross Misconduct

These bypass the "Strike Three" policy — termination is immediate:

  • Observed drinking alcohol or drug use/influence during a shift
  • Positive drug or alcohol test
  • Refusal to submit to a for-cause drug or alcohol test
  • Harassment, physical violence, or threats toward a customer, vendor, or employee
  • Working a shift with a lapsed TABC certification
  • Any illegal act during a shift
  • Theft from VooDoo Hut, customers, or employees
  • No-show/no-call to the MOD within two hours of shift start for two consecutive scheduled shifts (job abandonment — treated as voluntary resignation)

Voluntary Termination

If you decide to leave VooDoo Hut, written notice is encouraged — two weeks' notice is appreciated. Employees who leave voluntarily receive their last paycheck on the regularly scheduled Friday.

Involuntary Termination

Employees terminated for misconduct or policy violations may pick up their final check within six days of termination or request it be mailed to the address on their W-4 (or an updated address). VooDoo Hut reserves the right to ban terminated employees from entry as a customer in situations of hostile termination.