Who is a Class Member
Class members of the El Gaucho Restaurants Wage and Hour Class Action Settlement include “all current and former hourly-paid, non-exempt employees who worked for El Gaucho Tacoma, LLC; El Gaucho Seattle, LLC; El Gaucho Bellevue, LLC; Waterfront, LLC dba Aqua by El Gaucho; and/or Mackay Restaurant Management Group, Inc. in the State of Washington at any time during the Period from May 3, 2013, to October 11, 2017.”
TellTheBell Taco Bell locations in the state of Washington are not included.
If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Settlement Amount
- $1,500,000.00
Estimated Award
- Varies
Your estimated settlement payment will be calculated based on an analysis of your time records at El Gaucho, which include your hours worked and department level job codes. For the Tip and Service Charge Subclass, settlement payments will be based on the percentage relationship between the number of hours worked by each Settlement Class Member as a Server, Cocktail Server, Event Server, Captain, or Bartender during the class period and the total number of hours worked by all subclass members.
Proof of Purchase
- N/A
Claim Form
- Settlement Class members should have received a claim form attached to their individual Class Notice. If you did not receive a Claim Form and believe you should be included in the settlement, please contact the Settlement Administrator.
El Gaucho Restaurants Wage & Hour Settlement Notes
- Blasco, et al. v. El Gaucho Tacoma LLC, et al.
- Case No. 16-2-07538-5
- Pending in Pierce County Superior Court
In May 2016, plaintiff Matthew Blasco, along with 3 others, filed this wage and hour class action lawsuit alleging El Gaucho Restaurants unlawfully deprived employees of wages. El Gaucho operates multiple restaurants in Tacoma, Seattle, and Bellevue.
Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that El Gaucho Restaurants required them to work without clocking in or requiring them to clock out to continue working, improperly withheld tipped wages, and denied employees meal or rest breaks as required by Washington law. Additionally the wage and hour lawsuit claims that El Gaucho Restaurants retained and distributed to other employees a percentage of a service charge imposed on customers without disclosing that the automatic fee would not be given to the customers’ server.
El Gaucho denies the allegations and also contends that some of its employees misused promotional gift cards and converted them to cash for personal gain. Complete details about the case and settlement are provided on the El Gaucho Wage & Hour Settlement website.
Class members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the terms of the El Gaucho Settlement must do so by March 6, 2018. Class members who wish to participate in the settlement must submit their claim form on or before March 6, 2018.
Important Dates
- 3/6/18: Claim Form Deadline
- 3/6/18: Objection or Exclusion Deadline
- 4/20/18: Final Hearing at 9:00 am PT* (class members do not need to attend this hearing in order to receive a slice of the settlement pie).
Settlement Class Members who wish to speak at the hearing should check www.cptgroup.com/ElGauchoSettlement to confirm that the date or time of the Hearing has not been changed.
Contact Information
- Mail: Blasco, et al. v. El Gaucho Tacoma LLC, c/o CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606
- Phone:1-888-203-5950
Class Counsel
- Darrell Cochran of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC
Settlement Website