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Massachusetts AG Secures More Than $420,000 From Two Beacon Hill Restaurants Over Service Fees

An anonymous tip led investigators to find a 3% surcharge was not paid to tipped workers in violation of state law.

Overview

  • Carrie Nation must pay more than $143,000 and The Dubliner over $278,500 in restitution and civil penalties, according to the Attorney General’s office.
  • The AGO’s Fair Labor Division found the restaurants charged a 3% service fee from late May 2023 through early June 2024 without distributing the proceeds to service employees.
  • The AG said up to 84 workers were affected, with repayments to impacted staff beginning before any citation was issued.
  • Investigators reported both establishments cooperated with the probe and are now in compliance with applicable wage and service-fee rules.
  • East Coast Tavern Group attributed the issue to a point-of-sale description error, said the fee was intended as a hospitality surcharge, denied wrongdoing, and accepted the settlement.