An investigation conducted by the United States Department of Labor discovered that the proprietors of a sushi and hibachi restaurant located in southwest Florida coerced its servers to unlawfully exchange tips with the business’s sushi chefs, managers, and owners.
A press release states that the management of the Ginza Japanese Restaurant in Fort Myers forced 75 servers to tip sushi chefs, owners, and managers depending on the total sales made by the servers. According to WINK-TV, the conduct in question rendered the tip pool in question in violation of applicable federal laws.
According to the Labor Department, the restaurant “could not account for $22,000,” and they did not have any documents to show that the tips were given to servers or any other employee. According to the press release, the proprietors are suspected of not paying overtime wages when they ought to have done so.
According to the statement that was included in the press release issued by the agency, “The employer also failed to pay a regular rate and overtime to dual-occupation workers who completed separate job roles.”
According to the Department of Labor, such activities were in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. As a result, the department was able to collect $262,322 in back pay and liquidated damages for the individuals who were harmed.
According to The Miami Herald, the money was dispersed among the 75 workers in the amount of $3,497.63 on average for each employee.
“Employees who earn tips are the sole owners of the gratuities they receive. According to a statement released by the Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff, no employer has the legal authority to retain any gratuities unless such tips are handed directly to the manager who is directly responsible for providing service to a client.
“This case shows that when an employer handles tip pools improperly, they may no longer be able to apply a tip credit, which can lead to an employer owing employees significant back wages and damages.”
According to the Florida corporate documents that can be found on SunBiz.org, the restaurant was first opened in 2017 in the city of Fort Myers and is owned and run by Ginza Fort Myers, Inc. According to the state’s documents, Chang Ying Huang is the president.
The manager of the restaurant did not respond to a message that was left requesting comment by the Miami Herald.
