Settlement spells payday for 900 brewery, restaurant workers

Workers who joined in the class action lawsuit saw an average payment of $900.

An Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant location is seen in this 2010 NJ.com file photo.

PHILADELPHIA -- The operator of the Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant chain will pay more than 900 workers as a result of a class action lawsuit that challenged its since-changed pay practices when it came to sharing tips.

U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney ordered the company to pay out $1.2 million to the workers as part of the suit brought by a Pennsylvania man and employee Matthew Schaub, who worked as a server and bartender, according to the settlement reached earlier this week. 

Those who worked as bartenders or servers at Iron Hill locations in Pennsylvania between Feb. 17, 2013 and June 30, 2016, as well as those who held those positions in New Jersey and Delaware between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2016, were eligible.

As of Monday, 909 workers submitted opt-in forms for the class action settlement recovered an average of $924.29 each. Counsel Winebrake & Santillo, LLC was awarded $305,688 for its work on the lawsuit and $31,312 in expenses.

Schaub, for his "diligent efforts" in bring forth the lawsuit, according to the settlement, received $9,000. Iron Hill has locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware and in Camden and Burlington counties in South Jersey.

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According to Schaub's suit filed in February 2016, Iron Hill paid servers and bartenders $2.83 per hour. There is a company-wide policy for tips to be shared with expediters -- or "expos" -- who don't interact with customers and primarily work near the kitchen and prepare food trays.

The suit claims that Iron Hill is violating a federal fair labor act by simultaneously paying minimum wage to tipped employees who then must share with typically non-tipped workers.

"As a condition of the settlement, Iron Hill has changed their tipping policy to no longer include 'expos' in the tipping pool," a company spokeswoman said via email Thursday.