Miami Beach Restaurant Faces Unpaid Wage Claims

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A former employee of Florida-based restaurant Tapelia has filed a lawsuit against the restaurant’s operating company—Ounze Corporate, LLC—and an individual owner. The plaintiff claims he is owed unpaid minimum and overtime wages that the defendants unlawfully failed to pay him during the past three years. According to the lawsuit, servers like the plaintiff were forced to share their tips with non-tipped employees and surrender a portion of their pay to the defendants. As a result, the complaint claims they should have been paid the full minimum wage instead of being subjected to a lower wage reserved for tipped employees who are permitted to retain their tips. The plaintiff further argues that he was not paid time-and-a-half overtime wages for the hours he worked above 40 in a week. He claims he raised concerns about the defendant’s supposedly unlawful pay practices and was terminated in retaliation.