Former Barbuzzo Server Sues Operating Companies Over Alleged Tip Sharing Policy

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The operating companies of We Heart 13th Street restaurant group are facing a former server’s proposed collective action in which she alleges the defendants violated federal and state laws by enforcing an improper “tip sharing policy.”

The plaintiff worked at the defendants’ Philadelphia restaurant Barbuzzo from 2014 to July 2018, the case says. According to the suit, the plaintiff should not have been compensated at a tip-credited hourly rate because she was required by the defendants to pay out a portion of her tips to non-tipped employees. In fact, the woman claims that up until August 2017, servers at each of the five eateries in the defendants’ restaurant group—Barbuzzo, Jamonera, Little Nonna’s, Bud & Marilyn’s and Lolita—were required to pay a portion of their tips to silverware polishers and restaurant managers. In addition, the plaintiff “generally paid approximately $10.00 to $20.00 per shift to managers of the Restaurants each day she worked” at Barbuzzo, the case alleges. From the complaint:

“By requiring Plaintiff and other servers to share tips with silverware polishers and the Restaurants’ manager, Defendants have forfeited their right to utilize the tip credit in satisfying its minimum wage obligations to Plaintiff and other servers. As such, Defendants have violated the FLSA’s minimum wage mandate by paying Plaintiff and other servers an hourly wage of $2.83 rather than $7.25.”