MIAMI — Servers have filed a class-action lawsuit against a bar and grill for allegedly withholding overtime and denying hourly pay.
Angel Lozada filed a complaint on his behalf and on behalf of others similarly situated Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Brinker Florida Inc., doing business as Chili's Grill & Bar, alleging that the restaurant failed to uphold the rights of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on December 2014, named plaintiff Angel Lozada and others similarly situated were employed by the defendant as servers, allegedly working between 16 to 21 hours off the clock each week, were supposedly required to share tips with non-tipped employees and were purportedly paid less than minimum wage under the tip credit provision of the FLSA.
The plaintiffs holds Brinker Florida Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly refused to compensate the employees for overtime hours, demanded that tipped employees share tips with non-tipped employees, encouraged employees to work a shift off the clock by using a coworker's employee number to place orders but without paying hourly wages.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against the defendant, certify the lawsuit as a collective action, unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, interest, attorney's fees, court costs and other relief that the court finds proper. They are represented by Paul F. Penichet of Penichet Law in Miami.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida case number 16-cv-23736