The U.S. Department of Labor claims the employer gave a portion of employee tips to restaurant managers, a practice not allowed by federal law.

AUSTIN, Texas — According to the U.S. Department of Labor, $230,353 in back wages has been recovered for 274 employees of a popular barbecue operator following an investigation into claims that the employer shared employee tips with restaurant managers – a practice not allowed by federal law.

That law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, bars employers, managers and supervisors from keeping tips employees receive for any purposes, whether or not the employer takes a tip credit.

The investigation included Black’s Barbecue Inc., Kent Black’s Lockhart Barbecue Inc. and New Braunfels Barbecue LLC.

“Food service industry employers must know that tips are the property of tipped employees who earn them, plain and simple,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicole Sellers. “Workers and their families depend on their rightfully earned wages and benefits. If you take from them, you take from their families. The Wage and Hour Division is committed to safeguarding the rights of all essential food service workers.”

In a statement, owner Kent Black said:

"Black’s Barbecue has always paid 100% of all tips to all of their employees based on current laws and rules. The company and the owners of the company have never received any tips.

"Black’s BBQ was not aware that Department of Labor (DOL) rules had recently changed in 2020 and that...

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