Hard Eight BBQ restaurant failed to pay over $867K owed to employees for tips, overtime
A North Texas barbecue restaurant denied over 900 employees their full tips and overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor said, adding that the food establishment withheld nearly $867,600 in funds.
Hard Eight BBQ’s Roanoke location, at 205 S Oak St., failed to pay its employees, who were earning tips, their rightful amount of tip money, and hourly managers weren’t being compensated correctly for their overtime work, which is typically a time-and-a-half rate, according to the Department of Labor investigation.
The Labor Department said the restaurant also shared its servers’ tips with its managers, which is against the Fair Labor Standards Act, which states “an employer or their managers or supervisors [are not allowed] to keep tips the business’ workers receive for any purposes, regardless of whether or not the employer claims a tip credit.”
“By [including managers in their tip pool,] the employer denied tipped workers some of their tips and managers proper overtime wages,” said Jesus A. Valdez, the wage and hour district director for the Department of Labor in Dallas. “As businesses struggle to find people to do the work needed to keep operating, employers would be wise to avoid violations or risk finding it even more difficult to retain and recruit workers who can choose to seek jobs where they will receive all of their rightful wages.”
The Department of Labor recovered a total of $867,572 in owed tips and overtime for 910 employees, a news release from the department said.
The restaurant’s executive director, Katie Gooch, said in an emailed statement that Hard Eight BBQ corrected the problem in August 2021. She told the Star-Telegram the barbecue restaurant learned about a 2019 change to labor laws at that time and compensated all employees.
“At that time, our floor managers, who are deeply involved in the hands-on guest experience, were included in our tip sharing program,” Gooch said in the emailed statement. “We learned about the new rules during a Department of Labor review and IMMEDIATELY changed our practices. We compensated ALL affected hourly employees and former employees. We also gave our floor managers a wage increase.
“We deeply value our employees and our customers and are grateful for their continued support.”
The restaurant also posted a video message on Facebook addressing the situation.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 10:47 AM.
