West Springfield IHOP to Pay More Than $100,000 to Settle Allegations

[BDBoop]

West Springfield IHOP to Pay More Than $100,000 to Settle Allegations

“Workers deserve to be paid all of their wages, including tips,” AG Coakley said. “Restaurant employees should not have to front the business costs of the restaurant out of their pay.”

The settlement agreement requires the employers of the West Springfield IHOP location, RME Enterprises and its president and treasurer Robert Max Evans, to pay more than $100,000 in restitution and penalties and to comply with the state’s wage and hour laws.

In November 2010, the AG’s Office began an investigation into the business practices of RME Enterprises in response to a complaint received through the office of Senator Gale D. Candaras. The employee alleged numerous wage violations, which include:

• Wait staff were required to pay from their tips the full meal costs of customers who left without paying their bills;
• Wait staff were required to share their tips with non-wait staff;
• Employees were required to pay from their wages the full meal costs of any meals for which a mistake was alleged to have been made;
• Employees were required to pay from their wages for “breakages” of dishware, the amount of which was determined by the employer based on dish type;
• Employees were subject to meal deductions from their wages when no meals were eaten, consent was not given generally, and at times when consent was specifically and affirmatively withheld;
• Employees’ work time, and thus wages, were “shaved” to account for alleged meal break time, when meal breaks were not taken generally and at times when employees specifically and affirmatively noted they took no break

The complainant further alleged that an employee was terminated on the day she resisted paying out of her tips the full bill of a customer who left without paying.

Good. WTF was he thinking, screwing workers over like that??

 

[BDBoop]

Further;

West Springfield IHOP operator fined $100k for forcing wait staff to pay for meals customers skipped out on, multiple wage law violations | masslive.com

"Workers deserve to be paid all of their wages, including tips," Coakley said in a statement. "Restaurant employees should not have to front the business costs of the restaurant out of their pay."

When reached at his home by phone on Friday, Evans, who ran for local office as a Republican candidate in the 1990s, declined to say anything relating to the settlement or the accusations against him and his business.

"I have no comment at all," Evans said.

A call to IHOP's corporate media relations spokesperson's cell phone wasn't returned Friday.

The investigation, sparked by a complaint filed with the office of state Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, revealed that the IHOP management had allegedly violated several laws including the Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law, the Wage Act, the Tips Law and the Anti-Retaliation Law.

 

[HenryBHough]

There is a class of liberal who will assert that demand IHOP (everywhere) be shut down, all their properties forfeit to the government for liquidation and all the workers be given permanent unemployment payments. Oh, and foodie bank cards.