Northern District of Illinois Grants Employer Summary Judgment in “Dual Jobs” Tip Credit Case

On December 17, 2014, Judge Charles Norgle of the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment to an employer on all counts in a tip credit case where servers argued they were engaged in activities outside of their server duties. In Schaefer v. Walker Bros. Enterprises, Inc., 10 CV 6366, plaintiffs alleged that their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) by: (1) incorrectly using a tip credit to pay plaintiffs an hourly rate less than minimum wage while requiring plaintiffs to perform duties outside of their tipped occupation; and (2) failing to properly inform plaintiffs of their intent to apply the tip credit to plaintiffs’ wages.