A South Carolina restaurant owned by the sister of famous musician Jimmy Buffett faces accusations by several former employees of illegally paying them less than minimum wage.
Katie Burdick, who worked as a server 2018-2021 at LuLu’s North Myrtle Beach, filed the first lawsuit in December alleging violations of the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act, and two similar lawsuits were filed this week on behalf of a total of 14 other former servers and bartenders.
The suits name the Barefoot Landing restaurant, owners including Lucy Buffett and a handful of supervisors and managers as defendants. Defense attorney Phillip Reeves, representing them all, did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment.
The former LuLu’s employees allege they were paid less than minimum wage through their mandatory participation in “tip pool” that required them to give a portion of their tips after every shift to supervisors and managers, referred to as the “house,” the complaints state.
The restaurant and its agents also required the employees to perform “non-tip producing duties,” including working in the kitchen and deep cleaning, and work overtime without lawful compensation, according to the suits.
The employees also allege they were required to purchase LuLu’s t-shirts.
Each of the three lawsuits are worded very similarly, so it’s unclear why they were filed separately. Attorneys William Luse and Lisa Davis, who are representing all the employees, could not immediately be reached for comment.
LuLu’s is a restaurant chain that also has locations in Florida and Alabama.
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