Burlington Rainforest Cafe Employees Bring Class Action Lawsuit Over Tipping Policy

Employees of the Rainforest Cafe in the Burlington Mall are bringing a class action lawsuit parent company Landry's over a policy that requires servers to share tips with employees who are not part of the wait staff, according to Chron.com article.

The servers bringing the case are Monica Cormier and Holly Peterson, both who have worked at the restaurant since 1998.

According to the article, the suit, filed June 3 in Middlesex Superior Court, alleges that Landry's wage and tip policy is a violation of the Massachusetts Tips Statue and the state's minimum wage law. The employees bringing the case are arguing that the policy of servers being forced to share tips with non-wait staff employees means the restaurant should be required to pay them the state minimum wage of $8.

They say that currently servers there make about $2.63 per hour.

The employees' lawyer, Hillary Schwab with the Boston law firm Fair Work said on Tuesday that Landry's has not been formally served with the suit. Once the company is officially served it will have 20 days to file a response.