LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some Heine Brothers employees are upset, claiming managers were accepting tips when they were working behind the counters, which is against company policy.
In July, the Department of Labor notified Heine Brothers that labor and wage laws changed in 2020, saying that a "store manager with hiring and firing authority could no longer receive tips."
Some employees are now receiving checks with backpay to make up for the tips that were not distributed correctly.
"The amount paid is a redistribution of tips and liquidated damages for the period of July 2020 to July 2022," an email sent to employees on Dec. 22, obtained by WDRB News, said. "This amount was approved by the Department of Labor."
In a Tweet, the Heine Brothers Coffee Union said its Organizing Committee "would have liked to see the company confront their mistakes without being forced by federal agencies to respect the law."
In a statement, Heine Brothers' co-founder and president Mike Mays said the managers "never took tips that would have otherwise gone to the baristas with whom they were working."
"These amounts were paid by Heine Bros and store managers were not required to return the tips that they earned for the espresso bar shifts that they worked," the statement read.
In September, as many as 221 workers at the chain's 17 coffee shops voted to unionize. The Heine Brothers Coffee Union will go to the bargaining table with the company on Jan. 5 to "negotiate a fair contract for all Heine Brothers' workers."
It was the biggest union vote in the city in years and the most prominent example of a recent uptick in local union activity.
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