A newly filed federal lawsuit accuses the owner of a popular restaurant in Ypsilanti s Depot Town of making employees work off the clock, denying overtime by shaving their hours and unlawfully pooling tips.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit last week by two former employees seeking to represent a class of servers and bartenders who have worked at the restaurant, accuses Linda French and her restaurant, Sidetrack Bar & Grill, of violating state and federal labor laws. It alleges that the business required tipped employees to give back a portion of their tips so they could be redistributed to employees who did not work for tips, including hosts and dishwashers.
Lawsuit alleges Ypsilantiâs Sidetrack Bar paid employees unfairly, violated wage laws
By Amber Ainsworth
Two former employees filed the suit against the Depot Town bar and owner Linda French.
Alana Hubbard worked at Sidetrack from April 2019 to November 2019, while Jacob Redmon worked there from June 2016 until August 2018 and from March 2019 through July 2020.
Hubbard was a server and Redmon was a bartender. Both relied on tips, the lawsuit says, and they were paid below minimum wage by Sidetrack.
According to the suit, the tips were pooled and distributed to other employees, including employees who didn’t work for tips, such as dishwashers and hosts.
Lawsuit claims Sidetrack bar in Ypsilanti took tips from employees, made them work off the clock
Updated 3:23 PM;
YPSILANTI, MI A recent lawsuit filed against Sidetrack Bar & Grill in Ypsilanti alleges that employees were required to work off the clock and lost out on tips they had earned.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, was filed by two former employees Alana Hubbard and Jacob Redmon and seeks to represent a class of former servers and bartenders who worked at the restaurant. While working at the restaurant, employees were paid below minimum wage as the business utilized a “tip-credit system” that they did not qualify for, according to the lawsuit.