Class Action Against Two Atlanta Restaurants Seeks to Recover Allegedly Unpaid Wages

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Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Inc. and two individuals with control of the business are facing a proposed class action lawsuit in which two former employees allege the parties have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. The two named plaintiffs say they worked as bartenders at the defendants’ two Atlanta restaurants - Pricci and the Buckhead Diner -  without receiving proper wages.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs were paid at a rate that was less than minimum wage as a result of the defendants’ application of an improper tip credit to their hourly pay. The defendants' application of a tip credit was impermissible, the lawsuit says, because the plaintiffs and similarly situated workers were not allowed to retain all of their tips, such as in instances where they had to reimburse the restaurant for broken glasses or dishes, or when customers would leave without paying. Moreover, the plaintiffs, who the case adds were allegedly never given adequate notice of the tip credit being claimed by the defendants, say they often worked more than 40 hours per week without receiving proper time-and-a-half overtime pay.

The complaint goes on to explain that servers and bartenders were often required to work before and after their scheduled shifts to clean the restaurants and attend mandatory meetings without pay for this work time. Even further, the case alleges the defendants frequently removed “certain hours” from employees’ time records, further depriving them of their earned wages.