$21.2M Perry’s Steakhouse Tip Pool Lawsuit, Did They Steal Your Tips?

On March 24, 2026, a federal judge ordered Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille and its owner, Christopher V. Perry, to pay more than $21.2 million to 707 current and former servers who said the restaurant took a piece of their tips every night — and handed that money to employees who were mopping floors before the first customer ever walked through the door. A second lawsuit filed January 8, 2026 is now accepting servers who worked at any Perry’s location since December 31, 2023.

Field	Detail
Judgment Amount	$21,285,514.82
New Lawsuit Filed	January 8, 2026
Who the Judgment Covers	Servers at Texas locations, 2019–2022
Who Can Join the New Lawsuit	Servers at any Perry’s since December 31, 2023
Consent Form Deadline	TBD — act promptly
Judge	U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, W.D. Texas
Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel	Herrmann Law, PLLC
New Lawsuit Website	perryssteakhouselawsuit.com

Where things stand right now:

• Perry’s Restaurants has said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal.
• A separate group of nearly 335 servers in Colorado, North Carolina, Alabama, and Florida asked a court to grant early approval of a $7 million settlement to resolve related state and federal wage claims.
• The new 2026 lawsuit is active and servers who worked at Perry’s after December 31, 2023 must sign a consent form before the deadline to be included.

What Perry’s Was Actually Doing to Its Servers’ Tips

Perry’s Steakhouse is an upscale Houston-based chain known for its famous pork chop and fine dining atmosphere. It began as a butcher shop in Houston in 1979 and now operates 21 restaurants across the country.

Perry’s required every server at every Texas location to contribute 4.5% of their total nightly sales — not 4.5% of their tips, but 4.5% of every dollar of food and drinks they sold — into a company-wide mandatory tip pool. That money was then paid out to other staff.

The problem wasn’t the tip pool itself. Federal law allows employers to pool tips, but only among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips from customers. Perry’s crossed that line by funneling server tips to workers who had no real customer contact at all.

The money paid hosts and bussers who worked primarily when the restaurant was closed to the public. Servers were paid as little as $2.13 an hour before tips — and then required to give back nearly a quarter of what they earned to subsidize those morning prep shifts.

Related article: Frank Thomas Lawsuit Against the White Sox, What Actually Happened

The Math Behind the Tip Taking

At an upscale restaurant like Perry’s, where customers often leave tips of 18 to 20 percent, a server who rings up $2,000 in sales on a busy Friday night might earn $360–$400 in tips. Perry’s required that same server to contribute $90 to the tip pool — 4.5% of $2,000 in sales. That $90 represents nearly 25 cents of every dollar the server earned in tips.

Multiply that across every shift, every week, and every year — and it adds up fast. Plaintiffs pointed out this left some servers making as little as $2.13 an hour before tips. The total misappropriated tips in the Texas case alone topped $7 million.

What the Court Found

The federal court in Colorado ruled that Perry’s violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage laws by distributing tip pool money to employees who worked when the restaurant was closed to customers. The Texas court reached the same conclusion after a full bench trial.

The court found that including AM employees in the tip pool violated the FLSA — and because the tip pool was unlawful, Perry’s forfeited its right to apply the tip credit, meaning every server was entitled to the full minimum wage for every hour worked during every week the violations occurred.

The court also made a finding that matters a great deal to the size of the final number: Judge Pitman found that Perry’s FLSA violations were willful — meaning the company either knew its tip pool was illegal or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was. This single finding doubled the damages award and extended the damages period from two to three years.

The case marks the fourth time a court has found that Perry’s used unlawful tipping practices. In 2003, a Department of Labor investigation found the restaurant required servers to share tips with private event coordinators and to contribute to buying their own uniforms.

The Breakdown of the $21.2 Million Judgment

Category	Amount
Unpaid Minimum Wages	$3,444,129.48
Liquidated Damages on Wages	$3,444,129.48
Misappropriated Tips	$7,066,889.98
Liquidated Damages on Tips	$7,066,889.98
Employer’s Share of FICA Taxes	$263,475.90
Total Judgment	$21,285,514.82

The court has further ordered Perry’s to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs — meaning the total recovery will be even higher.

The Owner Is Personally on the Hook

This is the part most people don’t expect. Christopher V. Perry, the founder and owner of Perry’s Steakhouse, was found personally and individually liable under the FLSA — meaning if the company cannot satisfy the judgment, Mr. Perry is personally responsible for every dollar of it.

Under federal wage law, individual owners and executives who have operational control over a business can be held personally responsible. The court found Christopher Perry met that standard as the founder and owner of Perry’s Restaurants Ltd.

Are You Eligible to Join the New Lawsuit?

The $21.2 million judgment covers Texas servers from 2019 to 2022. If you worked at Perry’s after that window, your claims are not included.

Anyone who worked as a server for any Perry’s Steakhouse at any time since December 31, 2023 is eligible to join the new lawsuit and seek recovery of unpaid wages, misappropriated tips, and additional damages.

You may qualify if:

• You worked at least one shift as a server at any Perry’s Steakhouse location
• You worked at any point after December 31, 2023
• You were required to participate in a tip pool
• You were paid a subminimum hourly wage (tip credit wage)

How to Join the New Lawsuit

1. Visit perryssteakhouselawsuit.com
2. Review the case information and confirm your eligibility
3. Electronically sign and submit the consent form
4. You can also call or text Herrmann Law at 817-479-9229
5. Or email [email protected]

There is no cost to join. The firm handles these cases on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless they win.

Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes.

Important Dates

Milestone	Date
Texas Bench Trial Ruling	November 10, 2025
New Lawsuit Filed (2026 case)	January 8, 2026
Colorado Summary Judgment	February 3, 2026
Texas Final Judgment Entered	March 24, 2026
Colorado $7M Settlement Preliminary Approval Motion	March 20, 2026
Consent Form Deadline (New Lawsuit)	TBD — contact Herrmann Law
Expected Payment Date (New Lawsuit)	TBD

Sources & References

• Official consent form and case information: perryssteakhouselawsuit.com
• Herrmann Law case page: paycheckcollector.com/cases/perrys-steakhouse-lawsuit
• Final judgment: Paschal v. Perry’s Restaurants, Ltd., Case No. 1:22-CV-27-RP (W.D. Tex., March 24, 2026)
• Colorado ruling: Green v. Perry’s Restaurants Ltd., No. 21-cv-0023-WJM-NRN (D. Colo., Feb. 3, 2026)
• Houston Chronicle coverage via Yahoo Finance, March 2026

Last Updated: March 29, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.