Alleged tip skimming prompts DOL lawsuit in Lansdowne.

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The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of the Empire Diner & Restaurant in Lansdowne after an investigation found willful violations of the federal minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The DOL's Wage and Hour Division claims the restaurant's owner and a manager seized 10% to 15% of servers' total tips every shift. If true, that would mean servers should have been paid the full federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, rather than the $2.83 tipped wage that they received. The suit seeks repayment of all the seized tips.

Investigators also allege some employees were paid straight time for hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek.

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