Smokey Bones Restaurant Accused of Tip Credit Violations

Servers at Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill claim that the restaurant chain has engaged in tip credit violations and wage theft, according to a lawsuit filed in South Carolina federal court. 

The lawsuit alleges that Smokey Bones, while taking advantage of the FLSA’s tip credit provision, required waitstaff to perform non-tipped side work that was not related to their tipped occupations as servers and bartenders, as well as required them to spend more than twenty percent  of their shifts performing non-tipped side work that was related to their tipped occupations. The servers allege that they were required to pay the restaurants out of their tips when a customer walked out, were required to purchase additional  Smokey Bones t-shirts with their tips, and were never notified that Smokey Bones was paying them less than minimum wage pursuant to the FLSA’s tip-credit provision. The waitstaff also allege that all three of those requirements violate the tip-credit provision. 

 In a May 31 decision, a South Carolina federal court ruled that conditional certification of a nationwide class of servers and bartenders was warranted. The court held that the waitstaff produced evidence of nationwide Smokey Bones job descriptions for servers and bartenders that on their face require side work. While the court ruled, there is no doubt that requiring side work does not necessarily violate the FLSA, the waitstaff made a sufficient showing that Smokey Bones’ nationwide side work policy potentially caused FLSA violations for all Smokey Bones servers and bartenders. The waitstaff and the other opt-ins’ declarations stated that at least three Smokey Bones locations in three different states all implemented the side work discussed in the server and bartender descriptions in such a way as to require violations of the dual-jobs regulation and/or the FOH’s twenty-percent rule. 

Smokey Bones has 67 locations along the East in 16 states including Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia.