The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a civil action against Not Your Average Joe Inc. and founder and executive director Tim Herbel in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The case, Sonderling v. Not Your Average Joe Inc. et al., is docketed as 5:26-cv-02457, according to the docket listing. The nonprofit operates coffee shops and employs students and adults with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities, according to NewsOn6.com.
Alleged tip and payroll practices
The Labor Department alleges that the organization retained employee tips and did not consistently pay workers for all time worked or provide the required overtime rate. In its reporting on the lawsuit, KOKH said the complaint describes a tip-pooling system in which Herbel decided individual allocations. The filing allegedly says some cash payments arrived weeks or months after the relevant pay period and were distributed in envelopes without an explanation of the calculation.
The complaint also alleges that money was taken from tips for uniforms, aprons, licensing, waste removal, and credit-card processing. KOKH reported that the Labor Department further accuses the nonprofit of retaining credit-card tips while deducting transaction fees from cash tips. These are allegations in the lawsuit, not findings by the court.
Breaks, overtime, and child labor
The lawsuit alleges employees were required to clock out for every break, including breaks shorter than 20 minutes. It also alleges that the organization treated some hours beyond 40 in a workweek as unpaid volunteer time instead of paying overtime. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, hours over 40 generally must be paid at one and one-half an employee's regular rate; the lawsuit contends that requirement was not met in some workweeks, according to KOKH's account of the filing.
The Labor Department also accuses Not Your Average Joe and Herbel of violating federal child-labor requirements. The complaint characterizes the alleged conduct as involving oppressive child labor, according to NewsOn6.com.
Relief sought
The department is asking the court to hold the defendants responsible for unpaid tips and wages owed to current and former employees from at least Sept. 12, 2023, through the trial date. The requested recovery includes unpaid overtime and other compensation allegedly due under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as reported by KOKH.
