A group of front-of-house workers employed by
Café Corazon is suing the restaurant’s owners for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Café Corazon is owned and operated by
George and
Wendy Mireles. There are three locations in metro Milwaukee, including one in Bay View, one in Riverwest, and one in Brown Deer. There was also a location in Mequon, which closed in 2022.
A lawsuit, filed earlier this week by three employees, alleges the restaurants' owners operate a mandatory tip pool and allow both managers and supervisors to keep a portion of tips left for front-of-house employees. Each Café Corazon uses a mandatory tip pool, according to the lawsuit.
Company ownership records all cash tips that front-of-house employees earn at the end of each shift, according to the lawsuit. The amount of cash tips is then divided by the number of hours worked in a shift to calculate an hourly cash tip rate.
"Defendants then pay managers, supervisors, and front-of-house employees an amount equal to the hourly cash tip rate multiplied by the number of hours the individual worked that shift," reads the lawsuit. "Defendants thus allow managers or supervisors to keep a portion of their front-of-house employees’ cash tips through a mandatory tip pool."
The employees are seeking a judgement equal to the amount of tips that were “unlawfully kept,” along with all costs and attorney fees related to taking legal action against the company.
Café Corazon ownership did not immediately respond to messages sent Friday morning.
More articles about local restaurants that have faced allegations of wage violations:
