The owners of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.-based seafood market and eatery St. Paul Fish Company have agreed to enter a consent judgment after being sued by the federal government for illegally allowing managers to collect tips.
Under the court order, the owners are required to pay USD 56,000 (EUR 46,781) to the government, some of which will then be distributed to current and former employees to compensate for stollen tips.
The U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against company owners Timothy and Mary Beth Collins in January, alleging that between June 2021 and June 2023 the St. Paul Fish Company location operating out of the Milwaukee Public Market improperly managed tip pools. While the company operated a communal tip pool for employees at the seafood counter and oyster bar, the government claims the Collins allowed two managers to participate in the pool – a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Employees who worked in the oyster bar and seafood counter of the company participated in a single tip pool. The tip pool was mandatory for all employees who worked in the oyster bar and seafood counter, with the entire amount of each employees’ tips – both cash and credit card – being contributed to the tip pool," the U.S. Department of Labor stated in a 13 January court filing. "Throughout the investigation period, the defendants allowed managers to participate in an employee tip pool, resulting in the unlawful retention of tips that should have been distributed to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips."
On 28 January, Judge J P Stadtmueller of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin signed a consent judgment between the department and the owners. As part of that order, the owners will need to pay the government USD 28,000 (EUR 23,390) in unpaid tips and another USD 28,000 in damages.
The order also stipulates that the Collins shall not allow any managers, supervisors, or owners to receive money from the tip pool.
