Following a bench trial, Judge Aleta A. Trauger of the Middle District of Tennessee has ruled that bouncers at various Coyote Ugly saloons sufficiently interacted with saloon guests to validate their sharing in the tip pool. Stewart, et al. v. CUS Nashville, LLC, et al., M.D. Tenn., No. 11-cv-00342, 8/8/13.
In Stewart, Plaintiffs…
The FLSA regulates tip pool participation by limiting pool participants to employees who are “customarily and regularly tipped” as set forth in DOL guidance and interpreted by the courts. While the role of different positions in the service process (going to the question of whether they are “customarily and regularly” tipped) can be hotly contested, the…
Employers who maintain a tip pool are likely aware that, depending on the employer’s state of operation and prevailing law, such a tip pool typically can consist only employees who are both “customarily and regularly” tipped and who are not themselves “employers” or those with employer authority. Last year, we discussed a court’s recognition of the…
