Executive Summary: The Tennessee Court of Appeal has held that a bartender can proceed with her lawsuit under §107 of the Tennessee Wage Regulation Act (TWRA), claiming her employer failed to pay her and other similarly situated employees tips and that it distributed tips among tipped and non-tipped employees in violation of the law. See Hardy v. Tournament Players Club (July 2, 2015). In reaching this decision, the court held that the General Assembly’s 2013 amendments to §50-2-101 of the TWRA, providing that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development will enforce that section and eliminating the reference to civil litigation, did not deprive individuals of the right to bring a lawsuit under §50-2-107 (addressing payment of tips).
Home > State Law Articles > Tennessee > Wage & Hour (TN) > Restaurant Industry Update: Tennessee Court of Appeal Permits Lawsuit under State Tip Law to Proceed