Hard Rock Cafe hit hard ...

The Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc. ("Hard Rock Cafe") was hit with three separate class action lawsuits - one in Miami, one in Hollywood, and one in Key West - for the company's alleged failure to pay servers and bartenders proper minimum wages required underFlorida law as a result of tip sharing practices. Each case was brought under the minimum wage provisions of Florida's Constitution, which was passed by citizen's initiative and became effective as ofMay 2, 2005. Plaintiffs are represented by the law firms of Burr & Smith, LLP (www.burrandsmithlaw.com) and Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. (www.llrlaw.com).

The putative class actions related to tip sharing practices at the Miami, Hollywood, and Key West Hard Rock Cafes were filed respectively in Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Monroe County. Each complaint alleges that Hard Rock Cafe servers and bartenders were paid less than minimum wage during the period January 26, 2006 until approximately July 2009. The complaints assert that Hard Rock Cafe attempted to pay the servers and bartenders less than minimum wages while taking a tip credit allowable under Florida and federal law only when the servers and bartenders are allowed to retain all of their tips or where a legal tip pooling arrangement is instituted among employees "who customarily and regularly receive tips." The complaints allege that the servers and bartenders improperly shared their tips with individuals who were employed as expeditors. The complaints assert that the expeditors at each respective restaurant are not customarily and regularly tipped employees, but instead are kitchen employees who are responsible for ensuring food is prepared and garnished properly. The complaints allege that Hard Rock Cafe was not entitled to the tip credit because the servers and bartenders did not retain all their tips and paid a portion of their tips to expeditors.

Servers and bartenders who worked at the Orlando Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios filed a class action complaint against Hard Rock Cafe (Orlando), Inc. on January 14, 2011 alleging the same minimum wage violations. Sam J. Smith, Burr & Smith, LLP, Tampa, stated, "The plaintiff(s) in the Miami,Hollywood, Key West, and Orlando cases seek to recover damages not only for themselves but for other servers and bartenders they worked with. If the plaintiffs are successful in their respective cases, class members may be entitled to recover minimum wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and the tips they paid out to expeditors during the relevant periods." Hillary Schwab, Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.,Boston, Massachusetts, added, "In this economy, servers and bartenders need all the tips they can get. Hard Rock Cafe should have known that a tip sharing arrangement that included kitchen staff violatedFlorida and federal law."

Florida's minimum wage provision has recently been in the news because the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation was sued for improperly calculating the minimum wage under Florida law. As a result, effective June 1, 2011, the Florida minimum wage will be increased from $7.25 per hour to $7.31per hour.