Tag Archives: “tipped employees”

Hawaiian Supreme Court Issues Ruling Regarding Restaurant Service Charges

By Greg Mersol on July 23, 2013 Posted in Tip-Pooling

When is a “service charge” a tip? And who gets it, the employer or the employee? These aren’t just questions of etiquette, but are now serious issues for the restaurant and tourism sector in Hawaii. We’ve blogged this issue twice before, on September 9, 2011, and November 1, 2011. A number of resorts in Hawaii … Continue Reading

New York Upholds Tip Sharing By Starbucks Assistant Managers

By Greg Mersol on July 22, 2013 Posted in Tip-Pooling

I had a smart aleck friend who tried to come up with the Starbucks coffee order that had the greatest number of syllables. I can’t remember the winning combination, but it definitely had the words “half-caf” and “cinnamon”, some sort of milk substitute, and a very long word ending with the letters “iato.” He largely … Continue Reading

Court Partially Dismisses and Denies Conditional Certification In Tip-Credit Case

By Greg Mersol on May 23, 2013 Posted in FLSA, Tip-Pooling, Wage and Hour

Anyone who has dined at a restaurant is aware of the importance of tipping, even if the exact rules, like the percentage and how it should be calculated, may be a bit fuzzy at times. From the standpoint of the restaurant, too, the standards of what may or may not be tipped work for taking … Continue Reading

Court Denies Conditional Certification of Putative FLSA Collective Action

By Greg Mersol on October 15, 2012 Posted in FLSA

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has issued a very good decision for employers opposing conditional certification of FLSA minimum wage and overtime cases. In Beecher v. Steak N Shake Operations.pdf, Case No. 1:11-CV-4102-ODE (N.D. Ga. Sept. 27, 2012), the plaintiffs were employees of company-owned Steak N Shake restaurants working … Continue Reading

Hawaiian Court Finds That Employees Were Not Entitled To Resort Service Charges

By Greg Mersol on November 1, 2011 Posted in Tip-Pooling

Employees’ Tip Ball Fails To Save Game; Series Continues This blog and Baker Hostetler’s HospitalityLawg often come across the same cases, particularly because the hospitality industry is increasingly the target of employment class actions. The entry below was largely prepared by our hospitality industry team, who we thank for their efforts. We along with our … Continue Reading

Court Finds That Employer’s Failure to Pay “Service Charges” To Tipped Employees Violated Hawaiian Law

By Joyce Ackerbaum Cox on September 9, 2011 Posted in Tip-Pooling, Wage and Hour

In an August decision from a federal court in Hawaii, a hotelier was found liable for unpaid wages to a group of over 100 wait staff employees who claimed the company cheated them out of tips by retaining a portion of gratuity fees added to guest checks. The Planitiffs’ factual allegations focused on the failure … Continue Reading

$10 Million Settlement for Exotic Dancers a Not-So-Exotic Outcome in Wage Class Actions

By Holli Hartman on April 8, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Independent Contractors, Tip-Pooling, Wage and Hour

If you think wage and hour class actions aren’t very sexy, you’re wrong. A class of exotic dancers in California and other states have received preliminary court approval of a $10 million settlement of their class action suit in which they claimed that their adult nightclub employers misclassified them as independent contractors. Trauth v. Spearmint … Continue Reading

Maryland Court Rules Employer Cannot Participate in Employee Tip Pool

By Joyce Ackerbaum Cox on March 30, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Tip-Pooling

Once again, tip pool cases are getting attention in the federal courts. Most recently, several former employees of two taverns in Baltimore sued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and Maryland state laws alleging unlawful wage and hour practices. Gionfriddo vs Zink.pdf, 2011 WL 855799 (D.Md. March 11, 2011). Specifically, they claimed the owner … Continue Reading