ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) -- It’s a popular Atlanta restaurant chain that’s garnered attention across the country, but now it’s caught up in a lawsuit.
The owner of plant-based restaurants Slutty Vegan and Bar Vegan are being sued. Pinky Cole is accused of withholding hard-earned tips from employees.
In the federal lawsuit, Morgan Georgia, and two other former employees accuse Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole and two co-owners of requiring tipped employees to give up 25 percent of their tips at Bar Vegan, inside Ponce City Market. That money, they allege, was used to go to the house.
Georgia’s attorney says their clients claim Bar Vegan never gave a clear answer as to where their tips were going.
“One of our clients asked that [what is the house] several times during the course of their employment. They got varying explanations,” said Travis Foust, plaintiffs’ attorney.
One of those explanations, is they say the tip money was being used to purchase bar stools and glassware. Another explanation, they allege, is their money was given to other employees in the restaurant who are not tipped employees and make a regular hourly wage.
Atlanta-based labor law attorney Ed Buckley, who’s not associated with this lawsuit, says if their claims are true, Bar Vegan was breaking the law.
“Restaurants can engage in tip pooling in which the employees are expected to share a portion of their tip with other tipped employees. For example, a waiter or waitress might be expected to share with a...
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