A Saddle Brook-based company is accused in a federal lawsuit of pocketing more than $40,000 in tips from employees at Houlihan's restaurants it runs across New Jersey and New York.
A Bergen County-based company is accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act for allegedly skimming tips from employees (File photo)
A.C.E. Restaurant Group required servers and bartenders to hand over a percentage of their tips to a pool, according to a suit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. That money would be used to pay non-tipped workers, including kitchen staff and custodians, while management would also keep some of the money.
The defendants did not regularly pay overtime, did not pay staff for all hours they worked and "routinely" deducted money from paychecks to cover meals while still charging employees for the food, the suit alleged.
RELATED: N.J. Houlihan's employee sues owners over tip-pooling policy
A.C.E. president and part-owner Arnold Runestad, a Bergen County resident, along with 17 locations his firm operates are named as defendants in the suit. A company representative reached Friday said no one was available to comment on the allegations.
"In sum, defendants' pervasive skimming from tips and wages flouted the law and deprived defendants' employees of money they earned," according to the suit, which alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Violations of the act continued as recently as last year, the lawsuit said.
The suit seeks reimbursement for 1,430 employees for unpaid minimum wage, tips and overtime compensation as well as an injunction halting more alleged labor law violations.
Houlihan's did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
A.C.E.'s New Jersey eateries named in the suit included locations in Bayonne, Brick, Bridgewater, Cherry Hill, Eatontown, Fairfield, Holmdel, Lawrenceville, New Brunswick, Metuchen, Paramus, Ramsey, Hasbrouck Heights, Weehawken and Secaucus.
The labor department allegations came after a Woodbury Heights server filed a class action lawsuit in June accusing A.C.E. of an illegal tip-pooling policy.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
