16.   Defendant operates Southern Komfort Kitchen, a restaurant in La Porte, Texas.    17.   Defendant employs wait staff to provide services to its restaurant patrons.   18.   Plaintiff was employed as a waitress at Defendant’s restaurant beginning in February  2015 and ending on January 29, 2016.  Plaintiff worked 35 to 45 hours per week.        19.   Defendant pays its wait staff at an hourly rate below minimum wage ($2.13 per hour)  plus tips.  Defendant also takes the maximum “tip credit” allowed under the FLSA against its  wait staffs’ overtime rate.       20.   Defendant violated the FLSA when it required Plaintiff and Class Members to participate  in a “tip pool” which included ineligible employees such as managers, the owner of the  restaurant and kitchen workers. Furthermore, by deducting more than the actual credit card fees  associated with liquidated credit card tips, Defendant has violated the FLSA.   21.   As a consequence of Defendant’s actions, it loses the right to take a credit toward its  minimum wage and overtime obligations.    22.   Plaintiff and Class Members are also entitled to their misappropriated tips.        27.   Plaintiff has actual knowledge that Class Members have also been denied pay at the  federally mandated minimum wage and overtime rate.  Additionally, Plaintiff has actual  knowledge that Class Members have had their tips misappropriated by Defendant.  Plaintiff  worked with other wait staff at Defendant’s restaurant.  These employees have reported that they  were subject to the same illegal pay practice described in this Complaint.  Such other employees  have also expressed an interest in joining this lawsuit.     28.   Defendant takes a tip credit against its minimum wage and overtime obligations for all of  its wait staff.     29.  Defendant also requires all of its wait staff to share tips with employees that do not  customarily receive tips and/or the house.   30.  Defendant deducts more than the actual credit card fees associated with liquidated credit  card tips for all of its wait staff.     31.   The Class Members perform or have performed the same or similar work as the Plaintiff.   33.   As such, Class Members are similar to Plaintiff in terms of job duties, pay structure,  and/or the denial of minimum wage and overtime.   34.   Defendant’s failure to pay for hours worked at the minimum wage and overtime rate  required by the FLSA results from generally applicable policies or practices, and does not  depend on the personal circumstances of the Class Members.   35.   The experiences of the Plaintiff, with respect to her pay, are typical of the experiences of  the Class Members.   36.   The specific job titles or precise job responsibilities of each Class Member does not  prevent collective treatment.   37.   All Class Members, irrespective of their particular job requirements, are entitled to  compensation for hours worked at the federally mandated minimum wage and overtime rate.   38.   Although the exact amount of damages may vary among Class Members, the damages for  the Class Members can be easily calculated by a simple formula. The claims of all Class  Members arise from a common nucleus of facts.  Liability is based on a systematic course of  wrongful conduct by the Defendant that caused harm to all Class Members.   39.   Due to the inherent nature of Defendant’s tip credit and tip pool policies, all of  Defendant’s employees subject to a tip credit are similarly situated with respect to the violation.   40.   As such, the class of similarly situated Plaintiffs is properly defined as follows:  Current and former wait staff employed by Defendant at any time three years  prior to the filing of this lawsuit to the present.  