A former Dinosaur Bar-B-Que employee has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the restaurant chain of failing to pay fair wages and overtime compensation to its tipped workers.

Ashley Hankins, a resident of Bronx, New York, was employed at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on W. 125th St., New York, New York, from about July 2012 to January 2015.

The suit was filed March 26 by the Fitapelli & Schaffer law firm on behalf of servers, bussers, runners, bartenders and other “tipped workers” to recover minimum wages, pay for “side work,” overtime compensation and misappropriated tips.

In the suit, Hankins said she was paid a “tipped” minimum wage rate, less than the full minimum wage rate for non-tipped workers. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has not satisfied requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act or New York State Labor Law that would allow them to pay the reduced minimum wage, according to the suit.

Hankins is also looking to recover money for “side work,” which tipped workers were required to do for roughly 20 percent, or more than two hours, of their shift. The side work included general cleaning, cutting produce, refilling condiments, taking out garbage and maintaining bar and service areas.

Side work is typically assigned to ‘”back-of-the-house” employees who receive at least the full minimum wage rate, according to the lawsuit. Because these duties are those of a tipped worker, the suit alleges that Hankins was engaged in a “dual occupation” for which she is entitled to the full minimum wage.

Hankins also accused the chain of requiring tipped workers to engage in a “tip distribution scheme” in which they were forced to share tips with kitchen workers. They were also forced to share tips with kitchen managers in situations where there were “in-house, pre-paid” reservations, according to the lawsuit.

Kitchen workers and managers are not entitled to share tips under the FLSA or the NYLL.

The suit is filed collectively against Dinosaur Restaurants, LLC, JLN-Store, Inc., Soros Strategic Partners LP and John Stage. The first Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was opened in Syracuse in 1988. The lawsuit specifically focuses on the company’s New York locations in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Harlem, Rochester, Syracuse and Troy.

The suit accuses defendants of failing to keep accurate records of wages and tips earned, or hours worked by Hankins, and said she was not provided accurate statements of these either.

According to the suit, John Stage, co-founder, owner and operator of the Dinosaur BBQ restaurants, had power over payroll decisions and was actively involved in managing the day-to-day operations.

A message left Sunday at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was not immediately returned.

Published on March 29, 2015 at 4:44 pm

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu