Hofbrauhaus Sued by Class on Tip-Pooling

LAS VEGAS (CN) - Waiters and bartenders at the Hofbrauhaus say in a class action lawsuit that their bosses swiped their tips. The 19 plaintiffs say that bosses at the beer hall - styled after the Hofbrauhaus Munchen in Munich - created an illegal "tip pool" for each shift, from which the house swiped a share.

Another "substantial portion" was then given to "employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips," according to the federal complaint. What was left was divvied up among those who earned the tips, the lawsuit states.

According to Nevada state law, all tips belong solely to the people who earned them.

Plaintiffs "relied heavily upon receiving tip income, in the earning of their livelihood," the lawsuit states.

Plaintiffs are represented by M. Lani Esteban-Trinidad.

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