Steak ‘n Shake Hit With Pay Suit Over Tip-Credit Wage Practices

Steak ‘n Shake systematically underpays servers and bartenders by taking a tip-credit from their hourly wages, while not fully complying with Fair Labor Standards Act and Ohio wage rules, a new lawsuit filed Monday in a federal court in Cleveland says.

Betsy Ramos, who worked as a server at a Steak ‘n Shake location in Elyria, Ohio, sued individually and on behalf of other tipped workers employed by the restaurant chain in that state and across the U.S. Steak ‘n Shake, owned by Biglari Holdings, currently operates 200-plus locations in more than a dozen states.

Steak ‘n Shake pays ...