19 ex-employees sue Hofbrauhaus in Las Vegas
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/30/2008 09:57:21 AM PDT

LAS VEGAS-A group of 19 former employees of a Las Vegas restaurant is suing its owner over tip-sharing arrangements it claims violate federal labor standards.
In the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, the former workers at the Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas claim that bartenders, servers, busboys and food runners were forced into a tip pool that paid gratuities to managers who kept money for themselves and distributed some to other workers who weren't supposed to get tips.

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, is asking for an undisclosed amount in compensation for unpaid wages, compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas founder and managing partner Stefan Gastager did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.

Lani Esteban-Trinidad, the local attorney for the workers, said the group asked Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek to pursue the case before filing the lawsuit, but he declined.

Tanchek said his denial of the plaintiffs' complaint was a procedural step necessary for the lawsuit to be filed.

"They want to take it to court, and I didn't want to get in the way," said Tanchek, who said his office wanted to determine if the plaintiffs could afford an attorney.

In addition to the allegations about how the tip pool was divided, the lawsuit claims that the Hofbrauhaus, a German restaurant just off the Las Vegas Strip, lowered the plaintiffs' base pay below the federal minimum wage, then applied a tip credit to make up the difference, a practice prohibited by state law.
A similar lawsuit was filed two years ago against Wynn Las Vegas over the company's tip-pooling plan. That lawsuit has been in limbo since the spring.

---

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com