A popular BBQ joint in Central Texas was fined over $230,000 after it was found to have been withholding employees' tips and awarding them to managers.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recovered $230,353 in back wages for 274 employees of Black's Barbecue in Lockhart on Monday (September 19), according to MySanAntonio. Federal law states supervisors and managers are not allowed to withhold tips from its employees.
"Food service industry employers must know that tips are the property of tipped employees who earn them, plain, and simple. Workers and their families depend on their rightfully earned wages and benefits. If you take from them, you take from their families. The Wage and Hour Division is committed to safeguarding the rights of all essential food service workers," Nicole Sellers, Wage and Hour Division district director, said in a press release.
Black's Barbecue calls itself the "oldest BBQ joint owned by the same family." After opening its doors in 1932, Black's Barbecue now operates locations in New Braunfels, San Marcos and Austin, plus its flagship location in Lockhart.
This isn't the first BBQ joint in recent months to be in hot water. In April, Hard Eight BBQ in Roanoke failed to pay its employees nearly $900,000 in tips and overtime hours. Furthermore, owners of La Barbecue in Austin were indicted for defrauding an insurance company for $350,000.