Atomic Cowboy, the Denver restaurant group behind Denver Biscuit Co. and Fat Sully’s, will pay $800,000 to roughly 700 current and former servers who said the company improperly used a tip credit, wrapping up a years-long pay dispute. The deal follows an arbitration process that began in 2025 and was signed off on by a Denver judge last Friday. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which splits the money between class members and covers lawyers’ fees.
Under the agreement, class members will divide the $800,000 pool. Named payouts include $15,000 to Lauren Lucero and $10,000 each to Lillian Neal and lead claimant Andrew Barili, while plaintiffs’ counsel will receive about $267,000. Company executives and lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, according to BusinessDen.
Who represented the parties
HKM Employment Attorneys’ Denver page lists Adam Harrison, Cynthia Sánchez, and John Ziegelmeyer among its employment team, the group that handles wage-and-hour matters at the firm. O’Hagan Meyer’s Denver office includes Alice Powers and Brian DeMocker, who represented the company in the matter. The restaurant group itself lists multiple Colorado locations, including Colfax, Tennyson, and Broadway, on its Atomic Cowboy site, underscoring the local footprint at issue.
What workers alleged
Lead claimant Andrew Barili said Atomic Cowboy deducted a tip credit while staff were performing non-tipped duties such as opening and closing the restaurants, and alleged the company failed to provide breaks and pay overtime. Barili also alleges he was told to sign a contract that would bar him from suing and was fired after refusing to sign. In approving the settlement, Judge Adam Espinosa wrote that “the settlement was fairly and honestly negotiated at arm’s length between counsel who zealously and diligently represented their clients,” according to BusinessDen.
What the law says
Federal and Colorado rules place limits on how employers can use tips to satisfy minimum-wage obligations. The U.S. Department of Labor says employers may take a tip credit only for employees who “customarily and regularly” receive tips, and Colorado guidance warns that an employer loses the tip-credit privilege if tipped workers are required to share tips with employees who do not customarily receive them. For more on the rules, see the U.S. Department of Labor and Colorado’s Division of Labor Standards.
Why it matters for Denver restaurants
The settlement comes amid a broader wave of litigation and enforcement around tip pools and tip credits that has cost some operators millions and put pay practices under a microscope. Earlier this year, a federal ruling ordered a Texas steakhouse chain to pay more than $21 million over an unlawful tip pool, an example of the stakes involved. For Denver restaurants that lean on tip credits to manage labor costs, the case is a reminder to audit tip policies and payroll practices and to keep careful records…