A case has been filed by a server formerly employed by the News Café seeking to bring a class action against the News Café, a restaurant located in Miami Beach, Florida. The case claims the News Café failed to properly pay minimum wages to its servers, as required by law.  Like many restaurants, the News Café, takes a “tip credit” in the amount of $3.02 from the hourly minimum wages paid to its servers.  The lawsuit alleges that News Café had a policy or practice of requiring its servers to “tip out” or share their tips with the dishwashers who worked in the kitchen, as part of a “tip pooling” arrangement.  The case alleges that because servers were required to share tips with persons who were not “tipped employees,” as defined by the law, the restaurant was not permitted to deduct $3.02 from each hour worked by its servers.  The class action lawsuit seeks to recover $3.02 for each and every hour worked by the restaurant’s servers, plus liquidated (or up to double) damages.  The court has not taken any position on this case.

Bober & Bober, P.A. is litigating this case on a contingency fee basis, which means Bober & Bober, P.A. gets paid a fee only if the servers recover money from the News Café.  If you are concerned about being involved in this case, please be aware that the law prohibits employers from retaliating against individuals seeking the unpaid wages.  If you have information that would assist us in the investigation of these claims, please contact us. For more information about the News Café lawsuit, contact Bober & Bober, P.A. toll free at 800-995-WAGE (9243), or visit our contact page at
www.boberlaw.com.