Tutti Frutti franchisee fined by feds for wrongfully firing employee
Mar. 15—The owner of three Tutti Frutti franchises in New Hampshire and Massachusetts is being fined by the federal government for wrongfully firing an employee who asserted their rights to tips they had earned, officials announced Thursday.
TF Holyoke LLC, doing business as Tutti Frutti in Newington and two additional locations in Hadley and Holyoke, Mass., violated anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA), a U.S. Department of Labor investigation determined.
The department's Wage and Hour Division found the company failed to keep complete tip records and admitted keeping a portion of employees' tips and used the tips for business expenses.
The FLSA prohibits owners and managers from participating in tip pools and keeping any portion of an employee's tips for any purpose, officials said.
Under the terms of a settlement reached between the Wage and Hour Division and the company, TF Holyoke LLC, has paid $6,438 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 19 employees at the Holyoke location.
The settlement also requires Tutti Frutti to pay the unlawfully terminated employee $10,000 in punitive damages and $1,978 in back pay for the time frame during which the employee was looking for a new job after being fired.
The department also assessed $1,064 in civil money penalties against the employer for the tip violations.
"Retaliation against an employee who asserts their Fair Labor Standards Act rights is against the law, and the Wage and Hour Division will pursue appropriate remedies for employees," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in a statement. "In this case, an employee received $10,000 in punitive damages for being terminated after inquiring about how and when tips would be distributed. In total, this employer paid $24,854 for tip and anti-retaliation violations of the FLSA."
Workers and employers can contact the division confidentially at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243).
