Flying S. Wings, Inc. (Buffalo Wild Wings) – Tipped Employees Lawsuit
Flying S. Wings, Inc. (Buffalo Wild Wings) - Tipped Employees
Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox LLP along with the Texas law firm of Herrmann Law Offices filed a lawsuit against Flying S. Wings, Inc. (Buffalo Wild Wings) in the Southern District of Ohio, case number 2:21-cv-04292-ALM-KAJ before the Honorable Judge Marbley styled Pender, et al. v. Flying S. Wings, et al. alleging violations of federal and Ohio wage laws. The lawsuit claims that servers and bartenders employed by Buffalo Wild Wings were required to spend time prior to, after, and throughout their shifts performing non-tipped work such as cleaning, taking out the trash, dish washing, and food prepping while being paid a rate less than the minimum wage. In addition, servers and bartenders were not put on notice that Buffalo Wild Wings was going to be paying them at a tip-credit rate, rather than the full minimum wage for all hours worked. These practices are alleged to violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Ohio Wage Acts. Please see the Complaint linked HERE for more information.
Victory For
Restaurant Workers!
Issued 9/2/2025
We're proud to announce that our team has secured a significant win for Kayla Pender and other servers and bartenders in their case against Flying S. Wings, Inc., a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise! The court has recognized that employees were improperly required to perform maintenance and janitorial work while being paid subminimum wages.
Judge Marbley found that Buffalo Wild Wings had servers performing unrelated duties like cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, and extensive maintenance work without proper compensation. The Court granted our motion for partial summary judgment, confirming that restaurant workers deserve fair pay for ALL work performed.
Judge Marbley further upheld the 80/20 rule, confirming that tipped employees cannot spend more than 20% of their time on non-tipped related duties while being paid at the tipped wage rate.
This ruling acknowledges what we've argued all along - restaurants cannot lawfully pay tipped employees less than minimum wage while requiring them to perform work unrelated to their tipped occupation, or related duties that exceed 20% of their total working time.
The fight for fair wages continues, with the Court allowing the case to proceed as a collective action on behalf of all affected employees at Buffalo Wild Wings locations in Ohio and West Virginia.
This victory is just the beginning. We are ready to continue the fight to ensure that every worker is paid fairly for every hour of work performed.
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