A former bartender and server at the Chicago Athletic Association is bringing a class-action lawsuit that accuses Hyatt Hotels, which operates the site, of shorting workers on overtime wages and tips at more than a dozen of its city properties.

The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of Illinois by ex-employee Darren Sanders, alleges Hyatt violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act by underpaying overtime wages, illegally retaining a portion of earned gratuity and not reimbursing employees for uniform expenses.

The lawsuit also accuses Hyatt of failing to notify employees at the time of hiring that tips would count toward their minimum wage pay, a requirement of state law for employers to claim a tip credit provision.

Sanders is seeking class-action status to file the lawsuit on behalf of non-exempt employees including front desk agents, engineers, housekeepers, bellman, porters, bartenders and servers at 17 Hyatt-run hotels in Chicago, a request the presiding judge will have to rule on as the case gets underway. Sanders' attorney – C.K. Lee of New York-based Lee Litigation Group – said he estimated that 500 to 1,000 employees could sign on to the lawsuit.

“A class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy – particularly in the context of the wage and hour litigation where individual class members lack the financial resources to vigorously...

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