Martin & Martin, LLP Files Collective Action In Restaurant Tip Pool Case

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 10, 2008 – Discovery has begun in the March 27, 2008 collective action filed on behalf of employees in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia against Up The Creek Restaurants of America, Inc., Up The Creek Restaurants of Georgia, Inc., and Apple Creek Management Co., Inc. (collectively "Up The Creek"). The former employees accuse Up The Creek of failing to pay their Snellville employees who contributed to or participated in the "tip pool" minimum and overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA").

The former employees filed the lawsuit on behalf themselves and on behalf of other servers, bartenders, bussers, and hosts/hostesses of Up The Creek. They allege that employees were paid below minimum wage and then required to either contribute to or participate in an invalid tip pool. The former employees allege that Up The Creek's managers took money out of the tip pool prior to dispersing the tips to the employees. The FLSA specifically prohibits management employees from participating in a tip pool or retaining money from a tip pool if the company pays its employees below minimum wage.

The former employees seek the difference between what they were actually paid per hour (not counting tips) and minimum wage for each hour worked during each week in which they allege the tip pool was invalidated by the managers' participation or retention of tips. The law also allows the employees to recover double their actual damages if the Court finds that an employer willfully violated the law. The former employees allege that Up The Creek willfully violated the FLSA and therefore seek to have Up The Creek pay double their actual damages, as well as litigation costs and attorneys' fees.

The Defendants have responded to Plaintiffs' complaint and generally denied the allegations.