Server Sues Red Lobster for Not Paying Overtime

A server at a Red Lobster in Pennsylvania has filed a putative class action lawsuit against the restaurant chain’s owner, Darden Restaurants Inc., alleging that the company pays its employees tip wages for non-tipped tasks. They are also allegedly denied overtime pay.

Plaintiff Xenia Krylyuk alleges that Darden, which also owns Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, pays its employees below the state minimum for tipped work, resulting in a much-lower-than-the-state minimum for un-tipped work. According to the wage and hour lawsuit, the company also make employees spend more time doing non-tipped work, resulting to a compensation that is unlawfully low.

Krylyuk disclosed in her proposed class action lawsuit that she spends over 20 percent of her time at Red Lobster doing side work such as cleaning. For this, the restaurant pays her a rate of $2.12 per hour. She contends that, under FLSA regulations (Fair Labor Standards Act), paying below minimum wage is only acceptable when tips make up the difference from the amount she would have received if the restaurant paid her minimum wage.

“Despite its legal requirement to ensure that employees earn the full minimum wage for every hour worked, Defendant only paid Servers the tip credit amount for every hour worked, regardless of the circumstances surrounding a Server’s working condition during that hour,” the class action lawsuit states.

Darden Restaurants bills itself as “the world’s largest full-service restaurant company” that owns and operates more than 2,100 restaurants, employs over 200,000 people, and generates more than $8.5 billion in annual sales. Despite this, the wage lawsuit alleges that the restaurant does not have a way to distinguish tipped and non-tipped work.

Krylyuk is seeking class certification for “All persons employed within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within the four years preceding the filing of this action by Defendant as Servers at any of Defendant’s Pennsylvania facilities, who were not paid all applicable wages.”

The proposed class action lawsuit is also asking for an award of: unpaid minimum wages to Plaintiff and the members of the class; unpaid overtime wages to Plaintiff and the members of the class;  actual costs and expenses of the lawsuit; and other relief that may be deemed just and proper by the Court.

This Red Lobster Overtime Lawsuit is Xenia Krylyuk v. Darden Restaurants Inc. et al., Case No. 131002950, In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Civil Division.

Free Help for Employees Seeking Unpaid Overtime, Wages

Going up against a large corporation for wage and hour violations can be daunting, but banding together with other victims through a class action lawsuit can save you time, money and resources. If you were forced to work overtime or off the clock without overtime pay, were denied meal breaks, were paid less than minimum wage or suffered some other wage and hour violation, you may have the right to seek back pay and penalties from your current or former employer. Don’t delay though: the statute of limitations under the FLSA is 2 to 3 years, depending on the state. Find out if you qualify by filling out the short form at the Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.