Blackwood's Gyros & Grill Facing Class Action Over Illegal Tip Pool

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JSC, Inc., which does business as Blackwood’s Gyros & Grill, Blackwood Grill, Inc., and its owner are on the wrong side of a proposed class action claiming the entities unlawfully kept servers’ pooled tip money instead of properly distributing it among workers. According to the 27-page lawsuit, servers were required to contribute a 10 percent “kickback” of their tips into a pool at the end of each shift. The plaintiffs allege that money, instead of being distributed to other tipped employees, was kept by the defendants, which caused proposed class members’ pay to drop below the mandatory minimum rate. Worse, the complaint claims the restaurant’s owner, defendant James Blackwood, “uses the servers’ tips to pay for his drinking at nearby bars and restaurants.”

From the lawsuit:

“Because serves are forced to take part in an illegal tip poop, Blackwood’s Gyros & Grill is not eligible to take the tip credit to satisfy its obligation to pay the minimum wage. Blackwood’s Gyros & Grill is liable to each server for the difference between the full minimum wage and the case wage paid by [the restaurant], in addition to a return of all improperly retained tips.”

One of the suit’s three named plaintiffs further alleges that when she voiced her concerns about the illegal tip pool, she was immediately fired in retaliation.