Bartenders and Personnel at Music Festival Allege Violation of FLSA

Fifteen people employed to work as bartenders and barbacks sued the company operating a music festival in September 2022. The employees alleged that the company failed to pay minimum wage, overtime, and tips required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as Virginia’s Wage Payment Act and Minimum Wage Act.

The fifteen employees who filed suit asserted their claims on behalf of nearly fifty other tipped employees. The employees (Plaintiffs) alleged that the company pooled all tips together and used a large portion of the tips to pay non-tip managerial employees. Moreover, the employees alleged that they worked 10-14 hours each day of the music festival and were only paid $5 per hour.



The company operating the music festival argued that class certification was not warranted because the nearly fifty employees did not prove they were all similarly situated. And even if they did, the case would be unmanageable because the court would have to inquire about each claimant’s experience working at the festivals.

The U.S. District Judge in this matter disagreed. The judge stated in his recent opinion that, “At bottom, Plaintiffs’ evidentiary showing suffices at this stage of the case to establish that Plaintiffs and the other proposed collective action members are ‘similarly situated’ for purposes of the FLSA, and further, that no individualized inquiry would render inefficient their proceeding as a collective action,” he wrote. “Plaintiffs have established their entitlement to conditional certification of their FLSA collective action.”

The standard in this scenario requires, “only minimal evidence, such as factual evidence by affidavits or other means,” Here, the judge held that the employees had met that burden.

If your business has any questions on this topic or any other matters, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at The Royal Law Firm at 413-586-2288.