Bar accused of making employee repay stolen money was named in 2016 lawsuit

A concern accused of deducting wealth from a bartender’s checks pursuing an equipped robbery was 1 of respective Las Vegas Valley bars accused successful a 2016 suit of shorting employees a information of their pay.

The Lodge astatine Hualapai, on with different bars nether the Lodge marque name, were among dozens of defendants named successful a class-action suit filed successful District Court successful 2016 by Las Vegas lawyer Christian Gabroy.

Gabroy said this week that from 2014 to February 2017, the Lodge Taverns concatenation was paying bartenders $7.25 an hr erstwhile the instrumentality required that an worker without qualifying wellness security beryllium paid a minimum wage of $8.25.

The suit besides contended that bartenders were not decently compensated for overtime.

“They were not paying the minimum wage that is owed nether our law,” Gabroy said. “When you don’t wage each existent and formerly hourly employees minimum wage, that is wage theft. So, you get an vantage implicit immoderate different operators who are moving bars who are lawfully operating.”

The Lodge Taverns did not admit immoderate wrongdoing successful the case. A colony of astir $217,000 was reached to resoluteness each claims pursuing backstage mediation, Gabroy said.

Gabroy said astir 134 bartenders and servers each received an mean of $403.10 successful colony money. The highest paid to an hourly worker arsenic portion of the colony was $1,916.17.

“We are not talking astir going aft a ridiculous sum,” said Gabroy, who specializes successful worker rights law. “We are conscionable asking you wage these hard workers present minimum wage.”

The Lodge Taverns, on with 2 attorneys who represented the Lodge successful the lawsuit, did not respond to requests for remark for this story.

The Lodge besides has not responded to requests for remark connected allegations made by erstwhile Lodge astatine Hualapai bartender Edward Parker, 42, who claimed connected societal media past week that helium was forced to reimburse his leader for thousands of dollars stolen during a December robbery astatine his workplace astatine 3460 S. Hualapai Way.

Parker said that aft a antheral stormed the barroom and pointed a weapon astatine him during the heist, absorption told him helium had to reimburse the concern for the fiscal losses suffered during the robbery oregon beryllium fired.

In his societal media post, Parker said helium was leaving Las Vegas. He besides shared a representation of a Lodge repayment signifier that gave him 2 options: Repay the $3,937.35 successful 1 lump sum oregon done $300 installments.

“I’m ashamed to accidental that I was terrified of losing a large paying occupation during a chaotic clip successful America and chose to wage the wealth backmost and enactment employed,” Parker wrote successful the Facebook post. “I volition regret that prime for years to come.”

The relationship by Parker led to an outpouring of choler connected Facebook and Twitter. A Las Vegas couple, Jack McLaughlin, 42, and Daniela Tito, 38, were yet arrested successful a drawstring of barroom robberies successful the valley, including the 1 astatine the Lodge.

Parker confirmed this week that successful 2020, helium filed a ailment with Nevada’s Office of Labor astir the deductions. On July 22 of this year, the Office of the Labor wrote to Parker saying it could not bash thing astir the deductions from his checks due to the fact that helium signed the outgo agreement.

However, aft a Las Vegas Review-Journal communicative elaborate Parker’s account, the Office of Labor said it was taking a 2nd look.

“Based connected what was antecedently submitted, it was determined the worker signed a voluntary deduction agreement,” Teri Williams, spokeswoman for the Nevada Division of Business and Industry, wrote successful a Tuesday email connected behalf of the Office of Labor. “The bureau volition reappraisal the record again based connected existent media reporting. I won’t person thing further to stock until that reappraisal has been completed.”

Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ connected Twitter.