Read an article today in USA Today (online) about Applebee's in the state of Washington. This popular chain has been spending a little time in court recently due to employee lawsuits based on wage reduction form tips earned. Employees say and Applebee's confirms that tips have always been a source of income, so they have always reduced minimum wage for those who recieve them to balance out the level of income. Being a former restaurant/bar employee for many years I do completely disagree with this practice in general. I worked my butt off to make more in tips and technically, that should have nothing to do with what my minimum wage is. Nobody is forced to tip out there, it is a gratuity, a portrayal of appreciation for good service, friendliness and product appreciation. I usually recieved tips in the 20-25% range because I was very good at my job and I did care about a customers experience. If my employer was reducing my state mandated hourly minimum wage based on the tips I was making I would feel disrespected and taken advantage of. So, now in this scenario we have the employees from Applebee's and the corporate side budding heads on whether or not there's a legitimate case here. As it is, if an employee spends at least 20% of the time on the job working on tasks other than customer service, they are entitled to a full wage. This includes setting up, stocking, cleaning or shutting down. So far Applebee's International has not been lucky in their appeals to high court and their attepmts for a dismissal. The employees have a case and there just so happens to be around 5,500 of them that qualify for reimbursement. Ouch! This one might leave a dent.
>Average out of court: Defense-$15,000 / Settlement-$75,000
>Average Dismissal costs: Defense-$50,000 to &75,000 / No Settlement
>Average Jury & Trial costs: Defense-$125,000 + / Awards-$217,000
Provided that your EPLI policy limits have not been exhausted, EPLI does cover wage and hourly disputes. Applebee's International does have coverage if they do have EPLI.
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