Manny’s Original Chop House, Owner Named in Unpaid Wage Lawsuit

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A proposed collective action alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been filed against the company that operates Polk County, Florida eatery Manny’s Original Chophouse. The former server who filed the complaint claims the defendants, which include the restaurant's owner, unlawfully took advantage of an impermissible tip credit that allowed them to include in their wage calculations a portion of employees’ tips. Unfortunately, the defendants never provided to workers proper notice of the restaurant’s intent to use a tip credit, the lawsuit alleges, and required employees to contribute their rightful tips into a tip pool that paid out food expeditors and others who do not customarily receive tips. 

“[The defendants] required the collective action to participate in an illegal and mandatory tip pool (or tip sharing arrangement) which [the defendants] distributed to individuals who are not considered ‘customarily and regularly tipped employees,’” the complaint alleges. “Therefore, [the defendants] forfeited their right to claim a tip credit adjustment to minimum wage obligations for each hour [the plaintiff] worked in the last three years.”