Sharnese Willis has filed a class and collective action lawsuit against Bluegrass Hospitality Group, LLC and Bluegrass Hospitality Management, LLC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, East St. Louis Division. The case ID is 3:24-cv-01208-MAB and was filed on May 2, 2024. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) by failing to pay minimum and overtime wages.
Willis claims that she, along with other employees including servers and bartenders, were paid less than the FLSA's and IMWL's minimum wage. The defendants relied on customer tips received by employees to satisfy their statutory minimum wage obligations. Willis worked as a bartender for the defendants from September 2020 through March 2023 at their Drake’s restaurant in O’Fallon, Illinois.
The plaintiff further alleges that the defendants violated labor laws by failing to satisfy notice and posting prerequisites for taking the "tip credit". They also required tipped employees to spend substantial amounts of time performing non-tip-producing tasks while being paid less than the statutory minimum wage.
Willis seeks to recover unpaid minimum and overtime wages, liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, and costs under FLSA and IMWL. She asserts her FLSA claims on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) and her IMWL claims as a class action.