The Eighth Circuit on Thursday rejected Applebee's International Inc.'s challenge of a lower court's take on the Fair Labor Standards Act's tip credit provision in a class action over the franchise's alleged failure to pay proper minimum wage.  A three-judge panel upheld a Missouri federal court's ruling that employers cannot use a tip credit to offset minimum wage requirements for time workers spend on general preparation and maintenance duties if those duties take up more than 20 percent of an employee's workday.

The panel also shot down a cross-appeal that targeted the lower court's conclusion that the plaintiffs bore the burden of proving that they had not been properly compensated in the yearslong suit claiming one of the nation's most recognizable eateries violated the FLSA by paying thousands of servers and bartenders less than minimum wage.  Timothy Van Ronzelen of Cook Vetter Doerhoff & Landwehr PC, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients were pleased with the ruling and eager to get the case back in trial court again.  "We're very excited about the court's opinion," Van Ronzelen said Thursday. "We view today as a pretty big victory for tipped employees and the Applebee's class members who we represent." (click on link to read full story)