Rap mogul Clifford “T.I.” Harris, Jr. was sued by former employees who claim he owes them back wages. The 12 employees named Harris and his business partner, Charles Hughes, co-owner of Scales 925 Restaurant in midtown Atlanta.
The former employees accuse Harris and Hughes of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by refusing to pay them wages earned for time worked.
They employees all quit en masse, saying Harris and Hughes refused to pay them their final paychecks and “threatened to call the police” when they requested their pay.
According to the AJC.com, the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Atlanta by employees Chrysten Wright, Monique Simms, Kurel Scott, Ongeli McMillan, Whitley Middleton, Sammy Davis, Jenair Perry, Millan Rodrigo, Shomari Davis, Keandra Daniels, DeMarquis Denson, and Cashara Tate.
The documents name Harris as a defendant but the accusations are leveled against Hughes.
It should be noted that Harris is co-owner of the establishment in name only. He was not involved in the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
According to the documents obtained by the AJC, Hughes created separate bank accounts for Hughes LLC, where he deposited restaurant receipts, causing payroll checks to bounce.
Additionally, the former employees accused Hughes of not paying them overtime because the billing software he used to track their hours automatically deleted anything that exceeded 40 hours a week.
When they complained to Hughes, they say their complaints were often ignored.
The suit alleges:
“During Plaintiffs’ employment with Scales, they would routinely work more than 40 hours per week. Although Plaintiffs would routinely work more than 40 hours per week, they were not paid overtime. Plaintiffs complained to Scales about not being paid overtime; however, Scales would simply ignore their complaints.”
They also complained that their paychecks were unfairly docked to pay others.
“Scales would also take money out of Plaintiffs’ paycheck claiming the money was used to pay the busboys. However, the busboys told Plaintiffs they didn’t receive any money in their checks from Plaintiffs’ wages…Scales would also require Plaintiffs to pay $4.00 out of their paycheck for broken glasses even if no glasses were broken.”
