River Palm Terrace which was recently voted one of “America’s 50 Best Steakhouses” allegedly owes its tipped employees hard earned cash. A lawsuit filed this past Friday alleges that the steakhouse owes its tipped workers minimum wages, overtime pay, and misappropriated tips. Tipped employees that could be affected by this lawsuit include servers, bussers, runners, bartenders and other tipped employees that work or have worked at the steakhouse located at 1416 River Road, Edgewater, New Jersey 07020. The class action lawsuit filed by Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP was brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWL).
The allegations in the lawsuit detailed wage violations that included River Palm Terrace not satisfying the strict requirements under the FLSA and NJWL to pay its tipped employees a “tip credit” or a reduced minimum wage rate. One of the requirements is making sure tipped workers are receiving all the tips that they are entitled to. The lawsuit claims the steakhouse forced its tipped employees to share their tips with workers in other positions that were not entitled to receive them. Salad makers, for example, were receiving tips but they had virtually no customer interaction. Additionally, it was alleged that River Palm Terrace failed to provide its tipped employees with the proper notification of the tipped minimum wage rate, the tip credit provisions of the FLSA and/or NJWL, or their intent to apply a tip credit to their wages.
Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP specializes in wage and hour matters and has successfully resolved hundreds of cases for unpaid wages for its clients. If you or anyone you know works or has worked at River Palm Terrace in New Jersey as a tipped worker, they may have rights under this lawsuit. This class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of the plaintiff and all other similarly situated current and former employees who have been deprived of their lawfully earned wages. Call Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP at (212)300-0375 or visit our website for more information.
You can also view the complaint here.