Mass. — Bartenders and servers for Legal Sea Foods, a restaurant chain of upscale seafood restaurants on the East Coast, have filed two proposed class action lawsuits against the seafood chain alleging wage violations. The two proposed class actions claim the seafood restaurant chain required its tipped employees to share their tips with non-tipped employees in violation of Massachusetts wage laws.
The Tipped Employee Claims
Bartenders, servers, and other tipped employees in Massachusetts who receive tipped wages earn a minimum of $2.63 an hour. If the tipped employees do not earn enough tips for their hourly wage to reach the state’s regular minimum wage of $8 an hour, their employer must make up the difference in wages. Since tipped employees’ wages are dependent upon tips, so to some extent, tipped employees are entitled to all of the tips they earn during their shifts.
Not all restaurant employees receive tips; only employees who directly serve food and beverages to customers or clear tables are generally entitled to tips. Because only tipped employees are expected and intended to receive tips, state wage laws prohibit employers from requiring tipped employees to share their tips with non-tipped employees. Additionally, employers are only allowed to pay tip wages if they comply with wage laws.
In this case, the bartenders and the servers claim they were forced to share their tips with non-tipped employees who were tasked with rolling silverware in napkins. Legal Sea Foods claims the employees rolling the silverware were actually bussers, who rolled the silverware when they were not clearing tables. Because the bussers were hired to clear tables, the company claims they were entitled to a portion of the tips. However, if the allegations made by the employees in the two lawsuits are accurate and the company has failed to comply with wage laws, then the tipped employees must receive at least minimum wage of $8 an hour. Should the court find in favor of the tipped employees, as many as 200 bartenders and servers could receive as much as three years of back wages.
Minimum Wage & Overtime
Violations of tip and minimum wage laws often lead to or accompany overtime pay violations. Overtime wages are based on an employee’s regular rate of pay. If an employer is paying tip wages in violation of state or federal wage laws and using that as the employee’s regular rate, then the employee’s overtime wages could be improperly calculated and the employee will not receive all of the compensation they have earned. If you believe your employer is improperly paying tip wages or is improperly requiring you to share your tips, you may have a wage or overtime pay claim. Contact our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers to discuss your options today at (855) 754-2795. Or our experienced legal team can evaluate your situation when you complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.