Not My Legal Opinion’s Post

Employer:      2 Poto Inc., operating as Entre Nous French Bistro                        119 West Green St.Pasadena, CA 91105                                                                                       Action:           Fair Labor Standards Act complaint filingCourt:             U.S. District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaInvestigation findings: On Dec. 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint in federal court alleging Entre Nous French Bistro and owners Jean-Christophe Febbrari and Mathias Wakrat knowingly and willfully withheld a portion of employee earned tips and used them to fund business expenses. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the Pasadena restaurant collected credit card and cash tips from customers, automatically deposited them in the employer’s business account and distributed only a portion of the tips to servers, food runners, waiters, hosts and bartenders through a Zelle wire transfer on a weekly basis. The investigation also revealed the restaurant misclassified several employees as independent contractors and did not keep accurate pay records. The department seeks to recover approximately $250,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 18 employees. The department is also asking the court to issue an injunction forbidding Entre Nous French Bistro and owners from future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.Quote: “Illegal practices by restaurant employers such as Entre Nous French Bistro in Pasadena hurt employees and also law-abiding employers who face unfair competition due to the stealing of tips by unscrupulous employers,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Customers expect — and the law requires — that tips go to employees, not their employer. We seek to recover the wages owed, enjoin this company from future violations and protect the significant public interest at stake.”  Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. You can find other information on the agency’s website if you think you may have been misclassified as an independent contractor, or want to know how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.United States Department of Labor v. 2 Poto Inc., d/b/a Entre Nous French Bistro et alCase number 2:23-cv-10871 

Employer:                     LBB Progress Ridge LLC, operating as Little Big Burger                                       12345 SW Horizon Blvd. Ste #41                                      Beaverton, OR 97007 Type of action:                      Consent judgment and orderName of defendants:            LBB Progress Ridge LLCAmergent Hospitality Group Inc.Fred GlickMike PruittAdrian OcaBackground: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found LBB Progress Ridge LLC and Amergent Hospitality Group Inc – owners and operators of Little Big Burger restaurant locations in Oregon and Washington – required employees at 14 locations to share a portion of their tips with managers, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They determined the employers knew about federal regulations for tip pools but willfully required workers to share their earned tips.Resolution: The consent judgment orders the employers to pay $148,248 in tips illegally withheld and an equal amount in damages to 581 workers and forbids the employers from future violations. It also orders the employers to pay $20,000 in penalties assessed by the department for their willful violations. Court:                         U.S. District Court for the District of OregonDocket Number:       3:24-cv-00736-MOQuote: “Oregon’s Little Big Burger joins a list of shameful U.S. restaurant employers we’ve found shortchanging workers by misusing some of their tips to pay managers not allowed to pocket tips,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Federal law forbids employers from keeping employees’ tips — either direct from customers or shared in a tip pool — for any purpose.” Background: The division investigated Little Big Burger locations in Beaverton, Eugene, Hillsboro and Lake Oswego, as well as nine in Portland and one in Seattle.The division’s Portland District Office conducted the investigation and the department’s Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco obtained the consent judgment. “Since 2022, the Wage and Hour Division has recovered more than $2 million in unpaid tips for more than 1,500 people employed as restaurant workers in Oregon and Idaho,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Katherine Walum in Portland. “Federal law protects every worker’s right to be paid their full, earned wages. As Little Big Burger has learned, wage theft brings costly consequences for employers.”Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Employer:              Pizzicato Inc.                                    121 South Bancroft St. Portland, OR 97239                                                                                        Type of action:          Consent Judgment and OrderName of defendants: Pizzicato Inc; Mark Frankel; Tracy Frankel; and John-Felix RippelBackground: Aninvestigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 11 restaurants operating under Portland-based restaurant chain Pizzicato illegally allowed managers to participate in tip pools and by doing so withheld a portion of employees’ earned tips. Federal law prohibits restaurant employers from tipping out managers from a tip pool, including managers paid on an hourly basis. The investigation also revealed the employer hired a 17-year-old minor to drive a motor vehicle, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s hazardous occupations for minors.Resolution: The consent judgment permanently enjoins Pizzicato owners Mark and Tracy Frankel and company officer John-Felix Rippel from violating the FLSA and orders the payment of $270,101 in back wages as well as $270,101 in liquidated damages, for a total of $540,202 for 367 employees. The court also ordered Pizzicato to pay $29,797 in penalties. Court: U.S. District Court for the District of OregonQuotes: “The resolution of this case should remind restaurant employers that the law forbids managers and supervisors to participate in tip-pools and pocket a portion of employees’ tips,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees receive all the money they earn, including tips paid by customers.”“Wage theft, including employers’ pocketing workers’ tips, is a major concern for restaurant industry workers, who are some of the most vulnerable, low-wage workers in our community,” added Wage and Hour Division District Director Katherine Walum in Portland. The division’s Portland district office conducted the investigation. The San Francisco Regional Office of the Solicitor reached the consent judgment in court.Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. You can find other information on the agency’s website if you think you may have been misclassified as an independent contractor, or want to know how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.Docket Number: 3:34-cv-00202-SI

City of Seattle Office of Labor Standards investigated Guru Nanak Restaurants, Inc. dba IHOP (“IHOP”) for alleged violations of the Secure Scheduling Ordinance, the Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, and the Wage Theft Ordinance. The IHOP global franchise has over 500 employees and 1,500 locations worldwide; franchisee Guru Nanak Restaurants, Inc. dba IHOP operates two Seattle locations. OLS alleged the restaurant at times failed to: provide a good faith estimate of hours employees could expect to work; pay employees for employer-initiated schedule changes; pay extra for shifts separated by less than 10 hours, and; provide all required meal periods. IHOP settled the allegations and agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $323,089.34 to 297 affected workers and $4,298.71 to the City of Seattle. IHOP also agreed to pay $5,681.05 to an employee to settle allegations of retaliation under the Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. IHOP agreed to develop and implement written secure scheduling, meal and rest breaks, and PSST policies. IHOP also agreed to a management-level training on the Ordinances. You can learn more about the City of Seattle Office of Labor Standards by visiting https://lnkd.in/gE84kABi.

Highly concerning legislative activity in the state of Mass. And although Restaurateurs in this state have the most reason to be concerned now, if passed these types of "employee-friendly" laws tend to become trendy political fodder, so all hospitality employers should be concerned, especially in the Northeast. Although the tip credit has become less common practice in recent years since COVID, I've been recommending that clients consider this once again as we stare down the barrel of projected minimum wage increases hovering near 3% consistently in NYS each year into the future. That's a consistent 3%+ increase in labor cost each year, in an industry where margins are razor thin. And where employees also consistently make more and more in tips $2-$5/hr on average typically), as ticket totals also increase with corresponding price increases to cover labor costs. It's simply unsustainable and illogical, in my humble opinion. What do you think? Should employers be allowed to take a tip credit? Should this be something that's reconsidered again coming off of COVID? Are you willing to pay $25 for a cheeseburger in the near future? https://lnkd.in/eJgVTxeV

I have never met a hospitality person who wants to do away with tipped wages, have you? Most servers/bartenders I know make $20-30+/hr when they work. It is an excellent workplace to make decent money and the competition for labor is constant - thus keeping restaurant owners on their toes and keeping them honest. If, as an operator, you can't provide an environment where servers/bartenders can make money, they'll leave, and you'll have a revolving door of staff until you close. According to the OHRA survey of industry workers, 93% oppose this bill on the Ohio ballot. This is outside of the state, outside of the industry money with anti-business and anti-hospitality industry workers pushing this agenda. What comes along when the industry has to deal with this type of wage increase? Less qualified servers and bartenders, more self-ordering, self-checkout, etc. like we've seen in many other industries. It will impact independent restaurant operators first, then franchises/chains. Business 101 says if your labor cost goes up, you need more productivity out of the staff you have left. You'll need to raise prices (even more). You'll have to lower other expenses. Restauranteurs are already doing this, and the workers left over are burnt out. https://lnkd.in/ewAGDU2e

The operator of 61 liquor stores in two states must pay $354,633 in back wages and damages to 156 employees, post a statement and play a recorded video message to inform workers of their right to cooperate with federal wage investigators and notify them that he is subject to a federal lawsuit for retaliating against workers and failing to pay required wages, a U.S. District Court has ordered. The court, in the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend, included these requirements in a consent preliminary injunction and order entered in response to a February 2024 U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit seeking a restraining order against Bhola Singh, owner of Vishav Inc. in Granger for retaliating against workers who spoke to investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division and trying to coerce them to return back wages found due. Entered by District Judge Damon R. Leichty on May 8, 2024, the order requires the owner and operator of Mega Liquor & Smoke stores in Indiana and Michigan, to post the statement in a language understood by workers within three days and play the video — its content approved by the department — for employees within seven days during work hours. Singh agreed to immediately stop retaliating against workers who cooperated with investigators and received back wages found due. The employer must also provide the court with an accurate accounting of back wages paid and received by employees within 90 days. Any remaining back wages and damages owed will be paid to the department for distribution. “The court is holding Bhola Singh accountable for his illegal tactics to stop employees from receiving the back wages and damages they’re owed,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago. “Employers should know that we will use every available legal resource to protect workers and end illegal and retaliatory practices by employers.” In its lawsuit, the department alleged that, after signing a Sept. 29, 2023 settlement agreement to pay the back wages and liquidated damages for minimum wage and overtime violations against the affected workers between Nov. 9, 2020, and Nov. 6, 2022, Singh engaged in an ongoing scheme to deprive current and former employees of the money owed by using threats, intimidation and coercion. The Fair Labor Standards Act bans employers from retaliating against workers. https://lnkd.in/gu4SiA42

Effective April 1, 2024, a new #California law will require employers in the state’s fast-casual restaurant industry to pay covered non-exempt employees a minimum wage of $20 an hour. Jackson Lewis attorneys Laura Pierson-Scheinberg and Akansha Deepak discuss the steps employers can take to comply with AB 1228 and related strategic considerations. #EmploymentLaw 

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝. A mere seven days before the new minimum wage for employees of fast food restaurants is set to take effect in California, the legislature added new exemptions to the law. (𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 60 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.) In addition to the original exemptions for certain bakeries and restaurants inside grocery stores, the law will not apply to restaurants that are any of the following: **Located in an airport  **Connected to or operated in conjunction with a hotel, event center, theme park, museum, or gambling establishment **Located in and operated in conjunction with a for-profit corporation’s office building or campus, are primarily serving the corporation’s employees or its affiliates, and are part of a concession or food service contract covering the building or campus **Located on land owned by the government and operated pursuant to a concession or food service contract Please note that each of these exemptions has a more detailed definition under the law, which you should make sure applies before considering your establishment exempt. The 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐅𝐀𝐐𝐬 have not been updated yet, but we expect that they will be shortly 👉🏽 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/gHSgMJnr. The 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐰, with the new sections in blue italics, is available 👉🏽 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/g-nyhzPu ***************************** 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? HR On-Demand is the only service where you can have 𝑨𝑳𝑳 of your HR compliance questions answered for less than $2 per day. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐑 𝐏𝐫𝐨. Then, calculate your salary divided by the hours it takes you to research HR topics to stay compliant, on top of your other duties. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒊𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈! Check it out for yourself >>> https://lnkd.in/d3aGFxZ #hr #humanresources #hrconsulting #hrcompliance #hrgirlfriends #hrcommunity