Press Release  AG’S Office Secures $422,093 Settlement with Two Beacon Hill Restaurants for Failure to Distribute Service Charges to Staff

BOSTON — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) today announced that it has reached a settlement with Jackeens, Inc. d/b/a Carrie Nation and Inishowen, Inc. d/b/a The Dubliner, two tavern-style restaurants located in Beacon Hill. The settlement resolves allegations that the restaurants charged customers a 3% service fee and failed to distribute the proceeds to 84 wait staff and service employees between May 2023 and June 2024 in violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act.   

As a result of the settlement, Carrie Nation will pay over $143,000 in restitution and civil penalties. The Dubliner will pay over $278,500 in restitution and civil penalties

A “service charge” is a fee added by a restaurant to a customer’s bill that must be distributed to wait staff, service employees, or service bartenders. Businesses may not retain service charges to cover operating costs or supplement wages for non-tipped staff. 

The AGO’s Fair Labor Division (FLD) began investigating this matter following an anonymous tip that Carrie Nation failed to distribute the profits from a 3% service fee to wait and service staff. The investigation revealed that between May 22, 2023, and June 1, 2024, Carrie Nation and The Dubliner failed to distribute service charges to 84 service employees as required by law. As a result, those workers are entitled to restitution.

Both restaurants cooperated with FLD’s investigation and have since come into compliance with the applicable laws. Furthermore, the restaurants began making restitution payments to affected wait and service staff employees before the citation was even issued.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Justin Polk, and Supervising Investigator Yolanda O’Shea of the AGO’s Fair Labor Division, which is tasked with enforcing the state’s wage and hour, child labor, and other employment laws.

Workers in Massachusetts who believe their workplace rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint with the AGO’s Fair Labor Division at mass.gov/ago/fld. For more information about the state’s employment laws, workers may call the AGO’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for information available in multiple languages.   

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