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La Presse is reporting that Québécois bistro Les Enfants Terribles is being pursued in civil court over alleged problems with the way it paid tips and wages to workers at its Place Ville-Marie restaurant — and it could cost the restaurant around $358,621.
According to reporter Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, the lawsuit was served by the Quebec government’s arm for enforcing workplace laws, La Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), on behalf of 113 workers.
The CNESST lawsuit — which has not yet been proven in court — alleges that the restaurant imposed an illegal tip-sharing system on staff, and that some employees should have received more tips, while others should have been paid a higher minimum wage (Quebec has a separate minimum wage for servers who earn tips).
Speaking to La Presse, a representative for the restaurant said all tips had been paid to employees, but that there was a dispute over the way the tips were split up. The lawsuit (which covers June to December 2016) claims that tips were shared between all employees, instead of between just servers and bar staff.
The CNESST’s calculations allege that the restaurant owes around $262,000 in tips to staff — the lawsuit also seeks smaller amounts for back pay and fees to the CNESST.
Les Enfants Terribles is reportedly cooperating on the lawsuit so far, which is ongoing.