Resolves suit brought against Longbranch Café & Bakery for illegal tip pool
CARBONDALE, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order requiring a Carbondale café to pay 31 workers $98,400 in back wages and damages for operating an illegal tip pool, almost six months after a jury awarded the workers $4,900 – just 10 percent of their back wages – in what the department alleged was an error based on the jury’s instructions and how they interpreted the evidence at trial.
On Jan. 13, 2023, Judge Staci M. Yandle of the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Illinois in Carbondale issued a memorandum and order amending the jury’s July 2022 award. The court responded to a motion made by the department to alter the judgment in light of the error. The $98,400 award is in addition to the $290 in back wages and damages already awarded by the court on summary judgment.
As a result, Dayemi Organization, operating as Longbranch Café and Bakery, and owner Elaine Ramsyer Greenberg must pay $49,200 in back wages – found due by the department’s Wage and Hour Division – and an equal amount in liquated damages. Investigators reviewed the company’s payroll records from February 2018 through February 2020 and determined the company and Greenberg violated federal law when they required baristas and servers to share tips with cooks and dishwashers, who do not normally receive tips.
“The court’s decision restores the rightful amount of back wages investigators found...
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