A national collective action has been filed in Florida against Japanese restaurant giant, Benihana, Inc. The action is brought on behalf of all current and former employees, who since April, 2001, were not paid proper statutory minimum wage for all hours worked. The action is brought under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks back pay, statutory and liquidated damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief. As a collective action, all potential claimants are required to "opt-in" to the action in order to be considered part of the class. The employees have requested that the court issue notice to all potential class members.

According to employees, Benihana has engaged in a willful and intentional course of action to defraud them of proper minimum wage. The employees claim that Benihana uses a tip pooling arrangement for all employees. This includes those who traditionally work for straight minimum wage and do not share in tips, such as servers and busboys. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, these employees are ineligible for tip pooling compensation and must be paid a straight wage. The employees contend that even with the alleged illegal tip pooling practice, they frequently do not receive the statutory mandated minimum wage. According to the employees, this practice violates the Fair Labor Standards Act and entitles them to back pay and statutory damages. Additionally, the employees claim that because Benihana's conduct was willful and intentional, they are entitled to an equal amount of liquidated damages.