‘Significant payment.’ Lexington fine-dining restaurant settles tip and wage theft lawsuit

A popular downtown steak and seafood restaurant has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a wage theft lawsuit filed by servers across three states, according to an attorney who represented the servers.

Tony’s Steaks and Seafood has agreed to pay employees from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio locations, who alleged the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by forcing them and other tipped employees to participate in a tip pool that gave portions of tips to salaried members of management, according to federal court documents and settlement information provided by an attorney.

Initially, there were three individual class-action lawsuits filed against Tony’s restaurant in the three states, which were consolidated into a single federal lawsuit.

The $1.5 million will serve as a “common fund,” according to court documents. It will be split among those involved in the suit. The common fund covers settlement payments, attorneys’ costs, settlement administration expenses and class “representatives’ service awards.”

“We are extremely pleased with this settlement that provides significant payment to servers who worked for Tony’s in Lexington, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati,” said Dave Garrison of Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, the lead attorney in the case. “For years, Kentucky has maintained strong laws protecting those who earn their living from customer tips, and this settlement helps hold a well-known Lexington employer accountable for flaunting these laws.”

Representatives for Tony’s didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

The settlement resolves claims for 79 servers in Kentucky, 42 servers in Ohio and 52 servers in Indiana, according to Garrison.

In total, the award for plaintiffs in Kentucky is $546,237.65 – more than Indiana and Ohio’s settlement amounts combined. The average recovery for a class member who participates in the server settlement is $5,250. The largest settlement recovery is more than $35,000, according to court documents.

A fairness hearing to finalize the litigation settlement is scheduled for Oct. 30. Between now and then, there will be a notice process wherein class members will have to submit a claim form to receive their settlement payments. A court will also have to approve the agreed settlement.

“Our law firm represents workers in the restaurant industry throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, and this settlement represents a remarkable recovery that will provide thousands of dollars in relief to each server who participates in the settlement,” Garrison said.

Multiple Kentucky lawsuits allege tip theft

Christopher Sullivan, a former Lexington employee of Tony’s, initially filed his suit in federal court. Another employee, John Harley, filed a lawsuit in Fayette Circuit Court.

Both lawsuits featured similar accusations against the restaurant. Harley’s lawsuit alleged the restaurant forced him and other tipped employees to participate in a tip pool that gave portions of their tips to salaried members of management, including the maitre d’, who is not named in the suit.

Harley’s lawsuit alleges the tip pool violated the Kentucky Wages and Hours Act, which allows restaurants to pay hourly employees less than minimum wage because the tips make up the difference. According to the suit, Harley, who now lives in Nashville, was a bartender at Tony’s Steaks & Seafood from January 2016 through March 2017.

During that time he was paid about $5 an hour, the suit claims. The extra $2.25 an hour to reach Kentucky’s minimum wage and the extra $5.88 an hour for overtime wages was supposed to come from his tips, but Harley’s lawsuit claims the restaurant forfeited the legal right to claim the tip credit when it forced employees to share tips.

According to Sullivan’s original lawsuit, Sullivan worked at Tony’s from February 2015 through May 2021 and was paid less than minimum wage. The restaurant claimed the tip credit on his wages in violation of federal and state labor laws, according to the lawsuit.

Tony’s Restaurant had previously denied all the allegations in their replies to both Harley and Sullivan’s suits.

Litigation not over, new claim filed

On Tuesday, attorneys representing bartenders who worked at Tony’s in Lexington filed a class action lawsuit in Fayette County.

Emily Rice, a former employee of the Lexington restaurant, alleges that Tony’s Restaurant illegally required their bartenders to participate in a tip pool among other employees, according to the lawsuit. Bartenders were paid a tipped hourly wage less than the $7.25 minimum wage.

According to court documents, Rice was paid an hourly wage of $4.13 and was required to contribute a portion of the tips they received from customers to other employees.

Rice claims Tony Ricci, the owner of the restaurant, violated the minimum wage requirements and overtime requirements of the Kentucky Wages Hourly Act, according to the lawsuit.

Rice alleges in the complaint that Tony’s required her and other bartenders to contribute some of the tips to other employees, and rather than that being voluntary, it was a condition of the employment at the restaurant.

According to the lawsuit, Ricci’s response to the complaints about the tip sharing was to “discourage employees from challenging the practice.”

Reporter Janet Patton contributed to this story.

This is a developing story and may be updated.