Chili’s Servers Proved Tip Pool Setup Was Invalid Under FLSA, Court Affirms

The operator of Chili’s Restaurants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by requiring restaurant servers to share tips with food “expediters” or “quality assurance” workers who do not customarily receive tips, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Sept. 14, affirming a $270,000 jury verdict for 55 plaintiffs (Roussell v. Brinker Int’l Inc.).

The plaintiffs, who are waiters and waitresses working at Chili’s Restaurants nationwide, had filed an FLSA collective action and some 3,556 servers originally had opted in to the suit.

The plaintiffs claimed that managers for defendant Brinker International Inc. coerced servers to ...