Renowned Seattle Restaurateur Tom Douglas Settles $2.4 Million Lawsuit With Employees
On Monday afternoon, a King County court approved a $2.4 million class action settlement against Tom Douglas and his massive restaurant group, Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen, filed on behalf of 1,360 current and former employees. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Clare Thomas — a former worker for the gastropub Brave Horse Tavern in South Lake Union — alleged that Tom Douglas’ company failed to properly disclose where the money from service charge fees was going after it eliminated tips in early 2016, and did not provide adequate rest and meal breaks.
Douglas’s restaurants — which include the acclaimed Dahlia Lounge and the Carlisle Room — were among many that switched from a tipping system to a flat service fee when the city’s $15 minimum wage laws went into effect in 2016. Washington law requires that restaurants disclose to customers — either on the menu or on checks — what percentage of that fee is going to the employees.
According to the original complaint filed in a King County superior court last December, Thomas alleged that the defendants (Douglas, the Brave Horse Tavern’s parent company, Terry Avenue, Inc., and Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen) “did not disclose in menus and itemized receipts provided to customers the actual percentage of the automatic service charge that was paid directly to the employee or employees serving the customers.” She also claimed that her employer failed to “affirmatively” provide her with ten-minute rest breaks for every four hours of work, regularly required her to work more than three consecutive hours without a rest break, and didn’t provide full, uninterrupted 30-minute meal breaks.
“I brought this lawsuit to try to change the culture in restaurants, ensure transparency regarding distribution of service charges, and seek fair pay,” said Thomas.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/renowned-seattle-restaurateur-tom-douglas-settles-dollar24-million-lawsuit-with-employees/ar-AAJTXGb
