Garnished tips at Friendship Diner

Annette, Kyle and Laura all worked at the Friendship Diner in Evansville, Indiana. Unfortunately, the work environment was far from friendly. The diner’s owner created a hostile environment for employees and violated their workplace rights. 

As servers, they were ordered to share or “pool” their tips together, a practice that is illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If they did not combine their tips, the owner would respond with condescension – despite their concerns being legitimate. Sometimes the pooling was done to give tips to non-servers on staff, while other times the servers were told they had to cover the restaurant’s credit card fees. Other employees were denied overtime, or faced employer retaliation for their legitimate grievances. 

“We made jokes about us having PTSD from all the stress that owner has put on us,” Kyle said, but this gallows humor was inspired by real physical consequences, and it reached a point where several employees complained about their work environment to their doctors.

No worker should face this type of wage theft and retaliation, which is why the Wage and Hour Division stepped in to investigate Friendship Diner. In early 2023, an investigator from the division collected detailed information from current and former workers at the restaurant. 

Although the workers felt uneasy about talking to the division – sometimes out of fear of further retaliation – the investigator helped put them at ease. 

Laura said, “The work [the investigator] put into the case was fantastic… I’m really grateful for [the division] helping us and that justice was served.” Laura also encourages workers in a similar situation to reach out, adding, “If you report something [to the Wage and Hour Division], you are helping your co-workers as well.”

After the investigation concluded, an Indiana court ordered the owner of Friendship Diner to pay $390,000 in wages and damages to 44 employees, including Annette, Kyle and Laura. In addition, the court ordered the owner to display the judgment inside the restaurant. 

Back wages will help these workers with basic living expenses like food and child care. For Laura, the money means she can take her husband to a college football game and pay for her son’s driving classes. 

“[The Wage and Hour Division] is there for you and they fight for the underdog,” says Annette. If you believe your employer is violating the law and you are due wages, you can contact the Wage and Hour Division to file a complaint.

Lacey A. Houle is the Community Outreach & Resource Planning Specialist (CORPS) for the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Follow the division on Twitter/X, Instagram and LinkedIn.