U.S. Dept. of Labor Sues Top Restaurant Group in Newport — Says Owners Kept Tips and More
Thursday, August 11, 2022
U.S. Labor Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh is the plaintiff in the suit filed in federal court. PHOTO: DOL
Stoneacre Brasserie, Stoneacre Garden, and Stoneacre Tapas along with owners Christopher Bender and David Crowell are the defendants in a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last week by United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.
One of the allegations maintained by Walsh and the U.S. Department of Labor is that Bender and Crowell — along with managers at the Stoneacre locations — included themselves in the restaurants’ tip-sharing pools in violation of federal law.
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According to the 25-page complaint, the time period the alleged violations occurred was between April 2016 and January 2021.
Walsh is seeking to “recover tips Defendants kept from their employees and wages that Defendants failed to pay their employees, as well as liquidated damages.”
About Allegations
In the lawsuit, Walsh claims that during the time period examined that the Defendants violated federal law by “impropriety including managers and owners in tip pools and failed to pay employees one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.”
Walsh also alleges that between April 2017 and March 2018, “Defendants Stoneacre Brasserie and Stonacre Tapas failed to pay approximately 88 front-of-the-house employees the required minimum wage under the [Fair Labor Standards Act].”
Walsh and the Department of Labor are claiming Stoneacre and its owners violated eight federal overtime categories.
The four counts lawsuit in the lawsuit are:
Count One: Violations of Sections 3(m)(2)(B) of the FLSA — Employers Retaining Tips
Count Two: Violations of Sections 6 & 15(a)(2) of the FLSA — Failure to Pay Minimum Wage
Count Three: Violations of Sections 7 &15(a)(2) of the FLSA — Failure to Pay Overtime
Count Four: Violations of Sections 11(c) & 15(a)(5) of the Act — Failure to Make & Keep Records
Walsh and the Department of Labor are seeking a trial by jury.
“As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment at this time," said a spokesperson for the company on Thursday.
First published: Thursday August 11 7:55 AM
Updated: Thursday August 11 6:48 PM
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