Restaurant Chain Settles Tip-Pooling Claim

A federal district court gave preliminary approval to a class action settlement June 18 between a California restaurant chain and employees who claimed the employer had a mandatory tip-pooling policy.

Three employees claimed that the employer, Brigantine Corp., which owns 12 restaurants in San Diego County, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s prohibition on requiring tipped employees to share tips with non-tipped employees.

The employees claimed that the employer characterized its tip-pooling policy as voluntary, but employees were often directed by supervisors to share tips with nontipped employees.

The employer claimed that the employees signed an agreement requiring them to ...