Pasha Servers Win $161K Wage Theft Verdict

[Atlanta, GA] – A federal jury in Atlanta Friday awarded a total of $161,630.76 to a group of seven servers who sued their employer, Pasha Restaurant and Bar in Buckhead, GA, alleging the restaurant illegally stole a portion of the tips they had rightfully earned. Represented by Morgan & Morgan attorneys Ryan Morgan and Jeremy Stephens, the servers declined the defendants’ highest pre-trial settlement offers before ultimately being awarded the six-figure verdict.

Between 2020 and 2023, plaintiffs alleged Pasha paid them using a tip credit, which allows employers to pay below the minimum wage as long as the difference is made up by tips. The plaintiffs were required to contribute a portion of their tips to a mandatory tip pool, which, the servers argued, Pasha management operated illegally by taking a portion of the tips for themselves to pay for business expenses in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as by forcing the servers to pay for walkouts, voids and other business expenses from their tips. After a five-day trial in federal court, a jury found the servers’ allegations to be legitimate and awarded them $161,630.76 in back pay. The jury also found that the defendants willfully violated the law, which will add liquidated damages and bring the total recovery for the servers to $323,261.52. 

“Every person deserves fair pay for a hard day’s work, and we’re pleased we were able to win back the wages our clients rightfully earned,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Ryan Morgan. “The jury saw through the defense’s baseless arguments that these servers deserved nothing, and what’s more, they recognized that the restaurant owners had willfully violated the law. We hope this verdict sends a message to employers throughout Georgia and across the country that wage theft is wrong, illegal and will not be tolerated.”

 The case was heard by the Honorable Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Case No. 1:23-cv-03592-TWT. The defense was represented by attorneys Crystal Kesler of CKesler Law, LLC and Clarence Bryant of C.E. Bryant Law Firm.