The Fair Labor Standards Act is designed to protect employees in Texas and across the country from being underpaid or denied pay for their work. When an employer violates this law, the affected workers are sometimes able to seek recourse. Recently, Vitty’s Sports Bar was accused by three employees of violating FLSA. The workers filed a lawsuit last month that makes numerous complaints. Among them is the allegation that their employer failed to pay them minimum wage.
The plaintiffs claim that Vitty’s did not pay them $7.25 hourly in wages. Instead, Vitty’s purportedly added a tip credit to their wages to equal the minimum wage. The complaint also states that Vitty’s essentially charged the employees for the shirts they were required to wear by withholding some of their pay. In addition, all three employees claim that they were never paid for overtime that they worked.
The suit also addresses grievances that do not affect all three plaintiffs. Two of the employees accuse Vitty’s of failing to pay them at all for some of their work hours. Vitty’s also allegedly terminated one of the plaintiffs in retaliation for complaining about the unpaid wages.
The plaintiffs request a jury trial and seek an unspecified amount for unpaid minimum wage, overtime pay, legal fees and other damages. Anyone facing a similar situation in our state may find it beneficial to speak to someone about his or her options. Taking a stand may help a wronged employee obtain a sense of justice. If the plaintiffs in this case are successful, they may send a message to the defendant and other employers across Texas that there are consequences for not abiding by wage and hour laws.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, Sports bar sued for not paying employees minimum wages, Michelle Keahey, Dec. 15, 2013
