Waiter Claims Upscale Eatery Forced Tip Sharing

According to a news source, a Smith & Wollensky waiter has filed a putative
class action lawsuit in a Nevada state court alleging that he was forced to
share tips with assistant and general managers and even had to pay them
hundreds of dollars for preferential customers, tables, shifts, or time off.
Waiter Mario Viggiani has reportedly estimated that on an average night,
he paid managers $65, but on busy nights he paid them “upwards of $200.”
The complaint cites a Nevada law that makes it unlawful for employers “to
require an employee to rebate, refund or return any part of the wage, salary
or compensation earned and paid,” as well as a law making it unlawful “for
any person to take all or part of any tips or gratuities bestowed upon the
employees of that person.” The upscale steakhouse chain apparently has eight
other facilities in the United States, and Viggiani alleges that he knows of
similar requirements imposed on waiters in the eatery’s Miami location. See
Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 25, 2014.

Issue 539