Cincinnati-based luxe steakhouse chain Jeff Ruby Restaurant Group has agreed to settle a wage-and-hour class action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) brought by more than 700 current and former employees.
A family-owned business with operations in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, Jeff Ruby Restaurant Group is led by Jeff Ruby and his daughter, Britney Ruby Miller. With restaurants including Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouses, The Precinct, Carlo & Johnny, and Jeff Ruby’s Catering, the company’s annual revenue in 2023 was about 100 million dollars.
A lawsuit alleged that at least some of that success might be partly attributable to unlawful wage-and-hour practices. The class action recently settled for approximately $1.55 million, which will be distributed among more than 700 plaintiffs. A federal magistrate judge has granted preliminary approval of the settlement and, barring objections, is expected to grant final approval in May 2026.
The Allegations
The plaintiffs allege Jeff Ruby’s paid tipped employees — servers, bartenders, and server assistants — below the federal minimum wage by forcing tipped employees to share earned tips with back-of-house employees (generally cooks, dishwashers, busboys, and runners). They further allege that the restaurant chain required tipped staff to perform non-tipped duties at a sub-minimum wage rate and to perform work off the clock.
The lawsuit also claims Jeff Ruby’s was unjustly enriched at the expense of tipped workers by using the collective tip pool of cash and credit card tips to help meet the labor costs of back-of-house employees. Jeff Ruby’s denied the claims and did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Tip Pooling Rules for Tipped Employees
Tip pooling can be legal under the FLSA if tips are shared with other employees who customarily and regularly receive tips and if other statutory and regulatory conditions are met. However, federal law generally prohibits an employer from keeping any portion of employees’ tips or distributing tips to managers or supervisors, and restrictions apply when a tip credit is taken for back-of-house workers. In addition, some states have enacted stricter regulations regarding tip pooling.
The FLSA defines a tipped employee as a worker engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. Wage-and-hour rules permit food service employers to pay tipped employees below the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour — using a “tip credit” — when an employee’s tips make up the difference to at least the full minimum wage. If tips plus the reduced cash wage do not meet the full minimum wage, the employer must pay the difference.
Food Services Industry and Wage Theft
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that food services, which it designates as a low-wage, high-violation industry, receives more complaints than any other low-wage sector and has seen substantial back-wage recoveries in recent years. In a recent fiscal year, the agency recovered tens of millions of dollars for food service industry wage-theft victims.
If you have experienced wage theft in the food service industry or elsewhere, it’s recommended that you contact an employment law attorney to discuss your options.
Related Resources
- 5 Things a Wage & Hour Lawyer Can Do (That You Probably Can't) (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- FAQs: Wage and Hour Laws (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- What Is Wage Theft? When Can You Sue? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
