Tipping Point—A server at a New Jersey Houlihan’s restaurant has filed a complaint in the District of New Jersey alleging the restaurant chain unlawfully requires servers to engage in tip pooling with employees who are not traditionally tipped.
According to the complaint, brought by Erica Sargent individually and on behalf of similarly situated servers, the restaurants pay their servers less than the minimum wage, and servers rely on tips for compensation. But the restaurants require servers at all New Jersey locations to share their tips with kitchen expediters and hostesses, who don’t similarly rely on tips, according to the complaint. There are 10 Houlihan’s locations in New Jersey and 74 total, according to the company’s website.
