Current and former servers at two West Michigan pancake houses have some extra money coming their way.
It’s a result of a federal investigation into unfair labor practices at Sophia’s House of Pancakes in Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo.
The U.S. Department of Labor investigated the two locations and found a number of labor law violations.
They included requiring servers to turn $2 of their hourly tips over to the owners. That’s illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Now, a federal judge in Grand Rapids has entered an order requiring the owners to pay $245,000 in back wages and damages to 118 current and former employees.
It also orders the owner of the Benton Harbor location not to retaliate against an employee who blew the whistle on the situation, and to comply with labor laws going forward.
