HOUSTON – The owners and operators of a Houston strip club and restaurant are facing a claim that they failed to pay their waitresses minimum wage and operated an illegal tip pool.
Christine De Miguel and Bianca Montalvo, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, filed the complaint Aug. 24 in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas Houston Division against D. Houston Inc., Ali Davari and Hassan Davari, alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the plaintiffs' complaint, De Miguel worked as a waitress at the defendant's establishment from 1997 through 2020 and Montalvo worked as a waitress from 2007 through 2020. They allege that while working for the defendants as "non-exempt workers, they were paid less than the federal minimum wage and received only $7.25 per hour.
The plaintiffs also allege the defendants used the "tip credit" allowance to avoid paying minimum wage and that they faced retaliation in the form of cut hours and a "hostile work environment" if they did not share their tips with managers and busboys." Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that waitresses were kept from "clocking in" until there was a customer seated in their section and that they also worked "off the clock" without being paid.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, interest and all other just relief. They are represented by Josh Sanford of the Sanford Law Firm PLLC in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 4:20-CV-2966