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An Illinois steakhouse has agreed to a $445,000 settlement to end litigation over claims employees weren’t paid properly.
Perry’s Steakhouse of Illinois LLC and a group of its employees told Federal Judge Thomas M. Durkin Tuesday they had agreed on a deal to end more than six years of litigation, over claims the restaurant paid the employees less than minimum wage for non server work.
In the class action lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged the restaurant paid staff less than the legal wage for non-tipped side work done before the restaurant opened. Examples included tasks like washing dishes, stocking the bar or rearranging tables.
Illinois’ minimum wage for tipped employees is $6.60, and the minimum wage for non-tipped workers is $11.00.
The settlement allowed for Class Members to be compensated in three categories.
Employees who alleged they weren’t properly paid for side work would get their share of about $57,102, according to the settlement.
Servers who alleged Perry’s Steakhouse held money from their credit card tips to offset processing costs would be compensated from a pool of $121,425 in back pay, $175,411 in interest and about $22,646 in liquidated damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Employees who alleged Perry’s pooled their tips without providing proper notice would get a share of about $23,727.
Servers Jessica Berger and Timothy Rendak would be getting $5,000 each for serving as class action representatives, the Feb. 5 settlement agreement states.
An additional amount was going to be negotiated by the parties for attorneys’ fees and court costs.
The settlement comes after six years of extensive discovery which “included the production of thousands of payroll and time records, numerous depositions, and the retention of experts,” the settlement said.
The claims against Perry’s Steakhouse of Illinois LLC (PSI) for payment of wages, liquidated damages, return of tips, attorney’s fees, costs, and any other sums made by the plaintiffs remain highly disputed, the settlement said.
As part of the settlement, the named plaintiffs and class counsel were prohibited from issuing a press release on the alleged claims or settlement, talking to media or publicizing the news on social media.
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The servers are represented by Colleen McLaughlin of the Law Offices of Colleen McLaughin. Perry’s Steakhouse of Illinois is represented by Lionel Schooler of Jackson Walker LLP.
The Perry’s Steakhouse Minimum Wage Class Action Lawsuit case is Berger et al. v. Howard Cortes et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-08543, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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