SOUTH HAVEN, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — UPDATE: Clementine’s has issued an official statement via Facebook about the lawsuit. The statement can be read in full below.
“Clementine’s appreciates its employees, treats them fairly and believes that it fully has complied with the law. We disputed and vigorously defended ourselves against what we believe were unfounded charges by the U.S. Department of Labor. However, for business reasons, in order to avoid protracted and costly litigation, the company decided to enter into a modest settlement agreement.
So, what happened:
Last November, we had U.S. Department of Labor Investigation. We were told it was a ‘random’ investigation. They reviewed over 20,000 pages of payroll records and interviewed our employees. Their findings were that our ‘Expeditor’ position, should not have received tips from the waitresses and the bar tenders which is considered part of the ‘tip pool’. This person delivers the food to the bar customers and the to-go customers and “trays up” the food for the waitresses.
The judgment calls it a ‘minimum wage issue’ because a server is considered, under labor guidelines, a minimum wage employee, even though with their tips they make far above minimum wage. By having them share a small portion of their tips with the Expeditor, their wage, by definition, was below minimum wage.
To ‘fix’ it, the department of labor has decided that Clementine’s will pay back the portion of the money that was ‘tipped’ to the Expeditor, back to the waitresses and the bar tenders.
Thank you for your continued loyalty and support.”
— Original Story —
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against a South Haven restaurant over alleged unpaid wages.
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of employees of the eatery Clementine’s, who allege that they have not been paid for some of their hours.
It is filed against the South Haven location, the “Clementine’s Too” location in St. Joseph, and the owner Alfred Ruppert.
Allegations against the establishment also claim that some employees were paid less than minimum wage and were not paid properly for overtime hours.
The lawsuit says that these allegations took place from Nov. 2016 to Dec. 2018. It is asking for $17,990 in back wages for the employees, $17,990 in damages and any other applicable costs with interest.
This is an ongoing case and will be updated as more information becomes available.
