Minimum Wage Lawsuit Says Restaurant Servers are Owed Tips

A Missouri man filed a class action lawsuit against a barbecue restaurant chain in the Kansas City, Missouri area, alleging that he and hundreds of fellow current and former employees were deemed servers but completed duties that kept them from receiving tips for almost 20 percent of their shift in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

William Looker, III worked at a Smokehouse Bar-B-Que restaurant as a server and claims in the minimum wage lawsuit that he and all the servers who work at one of the restaurant’s four locations did not receive the proper wage during those times and were victims of Fair Labor Standards Act violations. Looker filed the wage and hour lawsuit in Missouri federal court.

According to the minimum wage lawsuit, Looker claims that servers are “uniformly paid $3.675 per hour in Missouri and $2.13 in Kansas,” the minimum wage for tipped employees.

However, Looker and other servers at the four restaurant locations claim that they perform “non-tipped” activities such as cleaning, replenishing condiments and items at the salad bar, besides their serving duties. In some cases that “side work” takes up at least one-fifth of their shift, according to the minimum wage lawsuit.

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The Missouri man is seeking to have the rate at that time increased to the minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 in both states. The current policy “denies such employees proper compensation for all work performed and overtime pay,” the complaint states.

The putative class would allow servers who worked for Smokehouse from March 4, 2012 to the present to be able to pursue claims under the Missouri Minimum Wage Law. It would also allow for unjust enrichment claims under Missouri law for those who served at the barbecue restaurant from March 4, 2009 to the present.

According to Looker’s wage and hour lawsuit, common questions include whether or not the restaurants tracked the time employees spent working on non-tipped tasks and whether or not that work took at least 20 percent of an overall shift.

The Minimum Wage Class Action Lawsuit is William R. Looker, III v. Smokehouse BBQ, Inc., Case No. 14-cv-00203, in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri.

Employees who think the are owed money due to wage and hour violations can take legal action by joining a free class action lawsuit investigation. Learn more at the Minimum Wage Lawsuits: Service Charge, Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.