Lawsuit Over South Carolina Restaurant’s Broken Dish Policy Headed to Trial

A federal lawsuit over a South Carolina restaurant’s policy of charging workers to cover the cost of broken glasses and dishes is headed to trial.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports jury selection is set next month in the case brought against Hyman Seafood Co. of Charleston.

Under the policy, bartenders, servers and bussers were charged a few dollars each shift to offset breakage costs.

But it’s against federal law to extract business costs from employee wages. The company has acknowledged in court documents that the policy violated the federal Fair Labors Standards Act. A restaurant attorney says the issue is how much the 160 workers are entitled to receive.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Duffy said it’s up to a jury to decide if the violation was willful.