(South Carolina Payment of Wages Act)  (Individual and Class Action)  15.  Plaintiffs reallege each and every allegation contained in the above paragraphs as if  repeated here verbatim.   16.  Defendants own and operate Hudson’s.   18.  Carlock was employed by Hudson’s from August of 2016 through March of 2017  as a server.   19.  Fabrizio was employed by Hudson’s from August of 2013 through July of 2017 in  various positions including bartender and server.    20.  Defendants paid Carlock and Fabrizio, and on information and belief all Plaintiffs,  a direct, or hourly, wage less than the statutory minimum wage by taking the “Tip Credit” under  the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 203(m).  Defendants paid Carlock and Fabrizio a direct, or hourly, rate of  $2.13 per hour.   21.  Hudson’s had a policy that required Carlock and Fabrizio, and on information and  belief all Plaintiffs, to remit, from the tips they received, a portion of their tips at the end of each  shift into the mandatory Tip Pool.        22.  From the Tip Pool, Hudson’s redistributed a portion of all server and bartender sales  to an individual who worked in the “back of the house” who performed janitorial duties and rolled  silverware.      23.  The employee to whom the tips were redistributed was not an employee who  “customarily and regularly” received tips.    24.  Plaintiffs reallege each and every allegation contained in the above paragraphs as if  repeated here verbatim.   25.  At all times pertinent to this Complaint, Defendants engaged in interstate commerce  or in the production of goods for commerce as defined by 29 U.S.C. § 203(r) and 203(s).   27.  The business of Defendants was and is an enterprise engaged in commerce as defined  by 29 U.S.C. § 203(s)(1) and, as such, Defendants are subject to, and covered by, the FLSA.   28.  The FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 206, requires employers to pay its nonexempt employees a  minimum wage of Seven and 25/100 dollars ($7.25) an hour.   29.  The FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 203(m), provides an exception allowing certain employers  to take a “Tip Credit” and pay less than the statutory minimum wage to tipped employees, on the  condition that any pooling, or sharing, of tips is shared only with other employees who customarily  and regularly receive tips.   30.  Carlock, Fabrizio, and on information and belief all Plaintiffs, were required by  Defendants to pool, or share, their tips with employees, who are not employees who customarily  and regularly receive tips, therefore, the Tip Pool is invalidated.   31.  When the Tip Pool is invalidated, the employer can no longer enjoy the benefits of  the Tip Credit provision, 29 U.S.C. § 203(m).     32.  Defendants have violated the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 203(m), 206, in reckless disregard  of the rights of Plaintiffs.   34.  Plaintiffs reallege each and every allegation contained in the above paragraphs as if  repeated here verbatim.   35.  Pursuant to the terms of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 207, an employer must pay a  nonexempt employee time and a half for all hours worked over forty (40) hours in a workweek.   36.  Plaintiffs routinely worked more than forty (40) hours per week.     37.  Plaintiffs were paid $3.19 per hour for overtime hours as opposed to the correct Tip  Credit overtime wage of $5.76 per hour.     38.  Without the benefit of the Tip Credit provision, Defendants failed to pay Plaintiffs  and all other similarly situated employees the proper amount for all hours worked over forty (40)  hours in a workweek or overtime hours worked.   39.  Defendants have violated the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 207, in reckless disregard of the  rights of Plaintiffs.   40.  As such, Plaintiffs seeks to recover from Defendants the following damages:  a. actual damages;   b. liquidated damages of an equal amount; and  c. reasonable attorneys’ fees and the costs and disbursements of this action.  42.  Each Defendant is an “employer” as defined by the South Carolina Payment of  Wages Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 41-10-10(1).   43.  Defendants employed Plaintiffs and the members of the Plaintiffs’ class within the  State of South Carolina.   44.  Plaintiffs worked for Defendants with the clear understanding and agreement with  Defendants that their compensation would be consistent with all applicable laws, including state  wage laws.     45.  Plaintiffs had an employment agreement with Defendants whereby they would be  paid wages for all hours worked.     46.  SCPWA § 41-10-10(2) defines wages as “all amounts at which labor rendered is  recompensed, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, or commission  basis, or other method of calculating the amount and includes vacation, holiday, and sick leave  payments which are due to an employee under any employer policy or employment contract.”    47.  Money received by Plaintiffs directly as tips, or amounts received from the Tip  Pool, were “wages” as defined by SCPWA, § 41-10-10(2).   48.  Pursuant to the SCPWA § 41-10-40(C), “[a]n employer shall not withhold or divert  any portion of the employee’s wages unless the employer is required or permitted to do so by state  or federal law.     49.  Defendants illegally deducted amounts from the wages of Plaintiffs without proper  authorization.   50.  Defendants owe Plaintiffs these tips that were illegally deducted from their wages.     Violation of Fair Labor Standards Act  29 U.S.C. § 203(m), 206  (Violation of Tip Credit / Failure to Pay Proper Minimum Wage)   Violation of Fair Labor Standards Act  29 U.S.C. § 207  (Failure to Pay Proper Overtime Wage)  