Summary:
On Friday, February 1, 2019, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit against River Palm Terrace in New Jersey for unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWL). River Palm Terrace, voted one of “America’s 50 Best Steakhouses” in 2016, allegedly owes its tipped employees minimum wages, overtime pay, and has misappropriated tips. Affected tipped workers include servers, bussers, runners, bartenders and other tipped employees that work or have worked at River Palm Terrace located at 1416 River Road, Edgewater, New Jersey 07020.
The wage violations in the complaint include the steakhouse 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 complaint claims River Palm Terrace forced tipped workers to share their tips with employees in positions that are not entitled to receiving them such as salad makers, who have virtually no customer interaction. Additionally, River Palm Terrace allegedly 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.
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. You can call Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP at (212)300-0375 or visit our website for more information.
You can also view the complaint here.