Judge Rudolph T. Randa of the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted final approval of a $235,000 class action settlement on behalf of waiters and waitresses against La Fuente’s three Milwaukee area restaurants. Case No. 13-cv-366. Hawks Quindel, S.C. brought the lawsuit on behalf of the waiters and waitresses in 2013 alleging La Fuente violated both state and federal wage laws by:
- Failing to provide the waiters and waitresses notice of the FLSA’s tip credit provisions which explain how the tip credit works and why they can be paid less than minimum wage;
- Operating a tip pool in which non-tipped employees, parking lot attendants, received some of the waiters and waitresses tips;
- Requiring its waiters and waitresses to pay for customer walk-outs, or returned food and drink orders; and/or
- Failing to maintain records establishing that La Fuente withheld the required taxes on all tips the Servers reported to La Fuente.
Settlement funds will be sent to Class Members on or around December 1, 2014 and April 1, 2015. If you are a class member with questions regarding this matter, or if you have moved and you need to update your contact information, please contact our offices at (414) 271-8650.
Attorneys Larry Johnson, Tim Maynard, and Summer Murshid represented the waiters and waitresses in this matter. If you work in a restaurant and you feel you are not being paid properly, please call our unpaid wage and hour experts at Hawks Quindel, S.C. More information can be found on our blog at:
- SERVER TIPS, TIP POOLING, & TIP POOL LAWS – A WISCONSIN LEGAL GUIDE
- TIPPED EMPLOYEES AND MINIMUM WAGE IN WISCONSIN
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