Servers at Steakhouse Want Class Cert. in Wage and Hour Class Action

A motion for class certification has been filed for an alleged unpaid minimum wage and overtime against Logan’s Roadhouse, Inc. on behalf of tipped employees who currently or previously worked at the restaurant during the past three years.

The lead plaintiffs, two former servers of Logan’s Roadhouse restaurants, filed the wage and hour class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of themselves and as well as other current and former tipped employees at other Logan’s Roadhouse restaurants across the country.

They are seeking a recovery of alleged unpaid wages for off the clock work, off the clock training time, working in non-tipped classifications, side work, for tips being required to be declared but not received (“phantom tips”), or tips being transferred into a subsequent week, in order to satisfy the tip credit requirements and/or unpaid overtime compensation.

The Logan’s Roadhouse wage and hour class action lawsuit seeks to have all overtime-eligible employees who worked at the restaurant chain during the last three years notified of the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit and their right to join the class action and recover unpaid compensation, plus damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and injunctive relief.

The plaintiffs also ask that the restaurant chain notify current employees by posting information at restaurants on how to opt in to the unpaid wages class action lawsuit and include the information with employee paychecks.

Tipped Employees Rights

Employees working in the food service industry are often employed as tipped employees. Thus, special rules apply to the minimum wage and overtime that must be paid to these types of employees, as well as to the types of work they are allowed to perform.

Some claim that waitresses, busboys, bartenders, servers, and other food industry workers are often paid improperly by their employers and below minimum wage because they are working as tipped employees. Employers do this by engaging in illegal and unethical practices, including:

• Excessive amounts of non-tipped work duties
• Retention of tips
• Tip pooling
• Service charges without giving employee tips
• Meeting or clean up time not paid
• Illegal deductions for cash register shortages
• Failure to pay overtime on regular rate or on the full minimum wage

When workers are asked to come into work to perform set-up, clean-up or attend a meeting, companies may be legally required to pay employees at the full minimum wage rate for such time and not at the tip credit rate. Unfortunately, many restaurants and bars allegedly routinely break this rule and pay their employees at the tip credit rate for performing duties where they are not eligible to receive or make tips.

This may include opening, cleaning, kitchen work, stocking supplies, and other routine duties. While this may certainly be part of the job, it is often illegal to require a tipped employee to spend more than 20 percent of their job time doing work where they are prevented from receiving tips.

Wage and Hour Laws

Federal and state labor laws prohibit employers from permitting employees to do off the clock work without pay. Employers must pay workers for all work that they knew about or should have known about. Not surprisingly, many employers look the other way while employees perform unpaid work voluntarily or under pressure.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay for all hours worked, whether or not those hours are properly recorded on time cards or time sheets. Under the FLSA, a work day begins when an employee starts their first work-related activity, and ends when they finish their last work-related activity of the day.

The Logan’s Roadhouse Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is Case No: 3:14-cv-02184, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Join a Free Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now