Workers File FLSA Class Action Against The Brigantine Over Tip Pooling

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The Brigantine, Inc., which operates the chain of Brigantine Seafood and Miguel’s Cocina restaurants throughout California, is the defendant in a proposed class action filed by three named plaintiffs who say the company unlawfully withheld “significant portions” of employees’ tips. The lawsuit claims the defendant implemented a mandatory tip pooling policy that unlawfully requires servers to tip out employees who do not provide “direct table service” to customers, such as kitchen staff. According to the case, it is a violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to compel employees to share or pool any part of their tipped income with employees who do not “customarily and regularly receive tips.”