Our firm engagements occasionally involve being a restaurant expert witness on employment, labor and wage policy and it is a good time for owners, operators and managers to review their own in-house procedures accordingly. Recent disputes initiated by current and former hospitality and foodservice industry employees over tip sharing are on the rise and there have been a number of lawsuits filed and reported on. Many of the alleged issues are a result of what some perceive to be the improper distribution of tips or the definition of what are gratuities versus service charges. There is also a trend to ban a restaurant or food and beverage establishment from sharing in or having certain personnel give up a portion of this income to other staff. For instance and in one of our restaurant expert witness news alerts, the objection is to an industry practice of a server “tipping out” other staff, such as a bartender or bus person but also allowing some management to participate. According to one excerpt from the story: “In New York State, where authorities took the rare step of regulating gratuities in 2011, making it illegal for employers to appropriate tips, and a flurry of lawsuits has emerged from server’s alleged violations. Even top names in the restaurant world have been ensnared.” In a separate restaurant advisor news update about a tip pool lawsuit brought by banquet servers against a hotel in Maine, the allegation is: “The hotel kept a portion of gratuities for itself or distributed some tip money to managers or other employees who don’t perform server duties.” Based on the number of class action suits that evolve, and where a large number of the employees are comprised of workers who share in tips, it is probably a good time to get the advice of an attorney as well as restaurant management tips on how your programs fit in. There are also a number of industry resources we evaluate as part of our restaurant expert witness work that might help you. For more information, call or contact us via the link below.
