What did I have?
It’s the question that starts the Clancy Brother’s song from which Four Green Fields gets its name. But according to a lawsuit filed last month in Hillsborough County court, the question a group of former employees is asking is what didn’t I have?
Their answer — wages.
Seven former employees are suing the owner of the popular Tampa pub after they discovered Four Green Fields’ management was in violation of labor laws. The suit points to a 2019 U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found Four Green Fields wasn’t paying bartenders a direct wage, only tips. Under state and federal law, businesses can pay tipped employees a sub-minimum wage so long as tips bring the hourly wage up to at least the regular minimum wage.
But the investigation found bartenders only received tips. No direct wage was provided. The suit alleges the seven employees have attempted to contact Four Green Fields and co-founder Colin Breen to collect backpay, but haven’t gotten a response.
“Plaintiffs have demanded proper compensation via demand letter for the unpaid minimum wage compensation, but Defendants have refused and/or failed to compensate them for same,” the suit says. “As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ deliberate nonpayment of wages, Plaintiffs have been damaged in the loss of minimum wages for the subject weeks that they worked for the Defendants.”
The Department of Labor confirmed the 2019 investigation to Florida Politics.
“The Wage and Hour Division...
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