ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and his business partners recently agreed to settle one of a pair of unpaid overtime lawsuits against the group’s Georgia restaurant and bar Scales 925 in downtown Atlanta. As part of the settlement, the defendants and their restaurant will pay back the four former employees a combined $78,000 in back pay, damages, and attorneys fees for violating several provisions of federal labor laws establishing minimum wage and overtime standards.
According to the unpaid overtime lawsuit filed back in 2015 in Georgia federal court, the rap superstar and his business partners failed to pay workers for all their hours spent on the job, including overtime wages. The suit claimed that the defendants went as far as to retaliate against the workers when they confronted management about their unpaid earnings. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants made illegal tip pool deductions from their earnings because they were not tip-earning workers.
The agreement does not require the defendants to admit fault and goes on to claim that the defendants instead chose to settle the unpaid overtime lawsuit because defending the suit would be too costly of an alternative. T.I. and his business partner are also involved in other civil lawsuits surrounding Scales 925 over additional claims of wage theft, financial mismanagement, and fraud that drove the company into the ground. Those claims remain unresolved and are still currently working their way through the courts as T.I. recently moved to have the claims transferred out of federal court.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), companies must pay their workers at least one and a half times the individual’s average hourly rate of pay and cannot retaliate against workers when confronted with pay discrepancies. When companies to break the law and fail to pay workers appropriately, wage theft victims have the legal right to file unpaid overtime lawsuits to recover back pay with interest, liquidated damages equal to unpaid earnings, and attorneys fees to cover the cost of litigation.
Restaurant Worker Overtime Pay Lawsuits
Call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page if you believe that your wage rights are being violated under the FLSA. Our top-rated team of unpaid wage lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine your best course of action to help you seek justice.
Our office will also determine if it is in your best interest to file a lawsuit against your employer. Because strict time limitations apply for filing these types of claims, we advise you contact our experienced unpaid overtime wage attorneys at your earliest convenience and preserve your legal rights.