Restaurant Wage and Hour Disputes Are on the Rise

Restaurants nationwide are facing costly wage and hour lawsuits for failure to comply with federal and state employment laws.  In these types of cases, employers run the risk of serious financial penalties, whether their actions are due to ignorance or a willful disregard of the law.In fact, across the country, employers were hit with 8,261 FLSA lawsuits in 2017 – a sharp rise in the past 20 years, since only 1,597 FLSA lawsuits were filed in 1997. Recent examples include allegations of paying below-minimum wage, violating tip pooling rules, and recording only 40 hours on timecards in order to avoid overtime pay.

Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense and restaurant owners and managers need to be sure they understand current state and federal employment laws and comply with those requirements or incur what are often stiff penalties.

For instance, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay and recordkeeping rules, an…