Philly-area sports bar to pay $8M in back wages

    A popular sports bar chain in the Philadelphia area will pay more than $8 million to compensate its employees for wage and tip violations.

    The Labor Department announced Thursday that Chickie’s and Pete’s agreed to a settlement of $6.8 million for more than 1,100 current and former workers. Labor officials say the settlement is the largest of its kind in agency history. It still must be approved by a federal court.

    Separately, Chickie’s and Pete’s announced it has settled private lawsuits alleging unfair pay practices for nearly $1.7 million.

    Federal investigators found the company did not pay minimum wage to its staff and improperly kept a portion of servers’ tips.

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    Restaurant spokesman Kevin Feeley says the company is trying to do right by its employees. He says tip regulations are complex.

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