A popular downtown steak and seafood restaurant has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a wage theft lawsuit filed by servers across three states, according to an attorney who represented the servers.
Tony’s Steak and Seafood has agreed to pay employees from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio locations, who alleged the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by forcing them and other tipped employees to participate in a tip pool that gave portions of tips to salaried members of management, according to federal court documents and settlement information provided by an attorney.
Initially, there were three individual class-action lawsuits filed against Tony’s Restaurant in the three states, which were consolidated into a single federal lawsuit.
The $1.5 million will serve as a “common fund,” according to court documents. It will be split among those involved in the suit. The common fund covers settlement payments, attorneys’ costs, settlement administration expenses and class “representatives’ service awards.”
“We are extremely pleased with this settlement that provides significant payment to servers who worked for Tony’s in Lexington, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati,” said Dave Garrison of Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, the lead attorney in the case. “For years, Kentucky has maintained strong laws protecting those who earn their living from customer tips, and this settlement helps hold a well-known Lexington employer accountable for flaunting these laws.”
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