Union accuses Waffle House of regularly underpaying staff
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Waffle House pays its tipped workers less than minimum wage to put in hours of un-tipped work — cleaning bathrooms, cooking and washing dishes — according to a union complaint filed Thursday at the Labor Department.
Why it matters: Tipped workers are in the national spotlight, with first Donald Trump and then Kamala Harris, promising to get rid of taxes on tips. Many restaurant workers don't earn enough to owe income tax, so higher minimum wages might be a more pressing need.
- Of all the low-wage industries, restaurants are among the most frequently found to be violating the wage laws, per the Labor Department.
Between the lines: Under federal law, tipped workers can earn as little as $2.13 an hour.
- These workers can have related duties — like a bartender washing glasses or a server clearing tables. But per Labor Department guidance, if you're doing a whole different kind of work, then an employer has to pay at least minimum wage.
- Other restaurants have gotten hit with penalties in class action suits for violating this rule over the years.
- But the Waffle House workers can't file a class action. They're bound by arbitration agreements in their employment contracts, the union says.
Zoom in: The Union of Southern Service Workers said it interviewed more than 20 current and former Waffle House workers across several states and reviewed the chain's written policies.
- Workers laid out how the diner chain, which is open 24/7, has a bare-bones staff at its restaurant at times.
- During those times, the company doesn't employ dishwashers, kitchen helpers or janitors, per the complaint. Instead, servers do the work, earning the tipped minimum wage.
- Often this takes them more than an hour. Some spend nearly half their shift.
- The complaint includes a Waffle House flyer that details end-of-shift responsibilities for workers: If there are only two people on staff, those duties include "de-lime all coffee machines," "change dish machine water," and "clean & stock restrooms."
"We do everything," says Cindy Smith, who's worked at a Waffle House in Conyers, Georgia, for the past 30 years, she says.
- Smith, who makes $2.92 an hour, says she spends at least two hours of her seven-hour shift doing this kind of work.
Waffle House did not respond to email and phone requests for comment.
Zoom out: The union is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and has been trying to organize Waffle House workers.
- Earlier this year, it filed a complaint over the chain's policy of charging staff $3 a shift for a meal whether or not workers eat the food.
- After that the chain, which has more than 1,900 locations across 25 states, said it would raise employees base pay to $3 an hour. Smith says she hasn't yet seen a raise.
What's next: The union asked the Labor Department to launch an investigation.
- If the agency decides to move forward, that could mean fines for the company and recovered wages for the workers.
