A Hawaii federal judge said Friday that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was liable for unpaid wages in a class action claiming the company cheated waitstaff out of tips by pocketing a portion of gratuity fees added to guest checks.  U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor awarded partial summary judgment to food and beverage servers at the chain’s Maui and Hualalai resorts, striking down the hotel giant’s arguments that it could not be classified as the plaintiffs’ employer under Hawaii compensation laws.  “We’ve been fighting this case for the servers for years, and we’re delighted with the outcome,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, counsel for the plaintiffs, told Law360 on Monday.

The ruling is one of the strongest plaintiff victories so far to come out of several suits filed by Hawaii hotel servers over gratuity charge issues, according to Liss-Riordan.  A trial will be held in November to determine damages, according to the ruling. The written opinion followed Judge Gillmor’s announcement of her decision in court June 21.  Hotel servers brought the class action in November 2008 accusing the resorts of acting unlawfully by not giving them the entire proceeds of the standard 18-to-22 percent “service fee” tacked on to the bills of weddings, convention dinners and other large events. The Hualalai resort is located on Hawaii's "big" island.  The suit alleges that customers were led to believe the entire charge was distributed to the waitstaff, even though the hotel retained a portion of the fee. Customers would have been inclined to leave additional gratuity had they known servers were not receiving the entire portion of the fee, the plaintiffs said. (click on link to read full story)