Nobu Sushi To Pay $2.5 Million to Settle Tip Claims

Lawyers recently asked a court to approve a $2.5 million class action settlement on behalf of 500 current and former employees of Nobu in New York. The lawsuit alleged that Nobu improperly required servers to share their tips with sushi chefs and management employees,

Employment Law Issues Top List of Corporate Concerns

For the sixth consecutive year, labor and employment disputes topped the list of of legal worries for United States companies according to Fulbright & Jaworski's 2009 Litigation Trends Survey. The two biggest concerns were discrimination claims and claims under state and federal wage and hour laws.

Domino's Drivers File Suit Over TIps

Delivery drivers for Domino's Pizza have filed suit alleging that Domino's failed to pay them minimum wages. According to the complaint, Domino's paid drivers on the "tip credit" system. In other words, Domino's took a credit against the full hourly minimum wage that ordinarily would be paid to drivers on the theory that driver tips would make up the difference. This is legal under federal law and the laws of many states as long as certain rules are followed. In this case, the drivers contend that Domino's took the credit even when the drivers were performing work for which they did not receive any tips (e.g., car maintenance). An analogous example would be a restaurant server paid on the tip credit system for hours spent cleaning the restaurant.

Waitresses Sue Hooter's Over TIps

The orange-shorted waitresses of two Hooter's restaurants in New York have filed a lawsuit contending the restaurant misappropriated their tips and forced them to pay for uniforms. According to the suit, Hooter's illegally required waitresses to share their tips with kitchen staff. The waitresses also contend that Hooter's was required to cover the cost of uniforms because they were not "ordinary street wear."

World's Largest Strip Club Hit With Wage Suit

Attached is the initial complaint in a recently filed lawsuit against the Sapphire Gentleman's Club in Las Vegas, which bills itself as the world's largest strip club. As with other strip club cases discussed in earlier posts, the lawsuit contends that Sapphire misclassified its dancers as independent contractors. The dancers apparently worked only for tips and did not receive overtime. According to the lawsuit, Sapphire maintained so much control over how the dancers did their jobs that the dancers actually were employees not independent contractors.

Tip Pooling a Hot Topic at NYC Restaurants

The attached article discusses the wave of litigation against NYC restaurants relating to illegal tip pooling policies. Coming from a restaurant industry trade publication, the article has a distinct bias. As one would expect, the article attributes the litigation to lawsuit-happy lawyers rather than to law-breaking restaurants.

USDOL Files Amicus Brief in Cumbie Tip Credit Case

As discussed in earlier posts, Cumbie v. Woody Woo, Inc. asks whether an employer can take an employee's tips as long as the employer does not take a tip credit against the employee's minimum wage. The issue is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The United States Department of Labor recently filed the attached "friend of the court" brief on behalf of the plaintiff in the Cumbie case. USDOL argues that tips are the property of the employee who receives them whether or not a tip credit is taken.