It is very likely you are not going to read the rest of this

It is the policy of Eat, Drink to be fair and impartial in all of their relations with employees and applicants for employment and to base all employment related decisions on valid job related factors, with no regard to race, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, marital status or any other legally protected characteristic.  This policy applies to hiring, training, promotion, compensation, disciplinary measures and all other personnel actions and conditions of employment. 

Applicants must be at least 16 years of age to work in our restaurants.  An employee must be at least 21 years of age to bartend and/or be a server at our restaurants. 

Eat, Drink supports the policies of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and is committed to treating all applicants and employees with disabilities in accordance with the requirements of that statute.  Our company judges individuals by their abilities and seeks to give full and equal employment opportunities to all persons capable of successfully performing in our restaurant’s positions. 

Eat, Drink is committed to employing only people who are United States citizen or who are aliens legally authorized to work in the United States. We do not illegally discriminate because of a person’s citizenship or national origin.

Because we comply with the Immigration Reform and control Act of 1986, every new employee is required to complete the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 and show documents that prove identity and employment eligibility.

If you leave an Eat, Drink restaurant and are rehired, you must complete another Form I-9 if the previous I-9 is more than three years old, if the original I-9 is not accurate anymore, or if we no longer have the original I-9.

If you have questions or want information on the immigration laws, contact the owner or your General Manager.

Employees of our restaurants are employed on an at will basis, meaning that an employee may leave our employment at any time for any reason, and we may terminate an employee’s employment at any time for any lawful reason. 

Due to the legal requirements surrounding the compensation of exempt employees, the following rules apply to deductions from the salary of exempt employees.

Deductions not specifically authorized below are prohibited:

Deductions may be made when the employee misses work for one or more full days for personal reasons, or for sickness or disability where the employees does not yet qualify for paid leave or has exhausted all paid leave.

Deductions may be made for absences less than a full day where those absences are covered by the FMLA.

Deductions may be made for unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days for violating workplace conduct rules.

Deductions may be made in any amount as a penalty for the employee’s violation of a safety rule of major significance.

The exempt employee will be paid his/her full salary for any week in which the employee is absent for jury duty, attendance as a witness or temporary military leave (minus any amounts received by the employee as jury fees, witness fees, or military pay for that week), provided that the employee performs work for the Company during that week.  

The exempt employee need NOT be paid his/her salary for any workweek where the employee performed no work, and the exempt employee’s salary may be prorated if the employee starts or ends employment part way through a workweek.

Any exempt employee who believes that his/her salary has been subject to deductions not specifically authorized above should inform their manager immediately so that any erroneous deduction can be rectified promptly.

 Eat, Drink is a covered employer under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, as amended (“FMLA”).  This policy describes the rights and responsibilities of our employees under the FMLA.  The FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees in any 12-month period for the reasons listed below.  The amount of an employee leave entitlement is calculated on a rolling 12-month basis.

For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal or medical care or child birth;

To care for the employee’s child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;

To care for the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition; or

For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job.

Eligible employees with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty or call to active duty status in the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation may use their 12-week leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies.  Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.  A “contingency operation” is one that is either designated by the Secretary of Defense as an operation where member of armed forces may become involved in military actions or one which results in a call to active duty during a war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress.  FMLA also includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a spouse, parent, child, or next of kin who is a covered service member.  A covered service member is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the service member is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status or on the temporary disability retired list. 

During FMLA leave, our Company will maintain the employee’s health coverage under any group health plan on the same terms as if the employee had continued work.  An employee on FMLA leave must continue to pay any share of the group health plan premium that had been paid the employee prior to the FMLA leave.  Upon return from the FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.  Use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee’s leave.  In the event an employee who has taken family or medical leave fails to return to leave and that failure is not caused by circumstances beyond the employee’s control, Eat, Drink may require the employee to repay to the Eat, Drink the premiums paid by Eat, Drink to maintain the employee’s health insurance during any unpaid portion of the leave period..  An employee who returns for at least 30 calendar days is considered to have “returned” to work. 

Employees are eligible if they have worked for the Eat, Drink for at least one year and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if at least 50 employees are employed by Eat, Drink within a 75 mile radius of the employee’s worksite.

 A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee’s job, or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or other daily activities.  Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment required may be met by a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider,  one visit and a regimen of continuing treatment,  incapacity due to pregnancy, or incapacity due to a chronic condition.  Other conditions may meet the definition of continuing treatment. 

An employee does not need to use this leave entitlement in one block.  Leave can be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary.  Employees must make reasonable efforts to schedule leave for planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt our restaurant’s operations.  Leave due to qualifying exigencies may also be taken on an intermittent basis.  Eat, Drink may temporarily transfer an employee during the employee’s intermittent or reduced leave schedule to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified and which better accommodate recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position. 

Eat Drink will inform employees requesting leave whether they are eligible under FMLA.  If they are, Eat, Drink will specify any additional information required as well as the employees rights and responsibilities.  If the employee is not eligible, Eat, Drink will provide a reason for ineligibility.  The Company will inform employees if leave will be designated as FMLA-protected and the amount of leave counted against the employee’s leave entitlement.  If the Company determines that the leave is not FMLA-protected, the Company will notify the employee.  The Company will also inform employees requesting leave if they are considered “key employees” under the FMLA.  A key employee is a salaried employee who is among the heist paid 10 percent of all employees within 75 miles of the requesting employee’s worksite.  Eat, Drink may deny restoration of employment to a key employee if the restoration would cause substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of Eat, Drink. 

It is illegal and a violation of this policy for any employee to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under FMLA; discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA of for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.

Employees with question about the FMLA or who believe there has been a violation of the FMLA should contact Jason Miller.  The FMLA does not affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination or supersede any State or local law or collective bargaining agreement which provides greater family or medical leave rights.  Employees have a right to file a complaint with the U.S Department of Labor or to bring a private lawsuit for violations of the FMLA.

Visitors, whether they be family or friends, are not allowed in the restaurant unless they are here as guests. If a friend or family member is here as a customer, you must not disregard your responsibilities to other guests.  Spending too much time at one table or with one guest will jeopardize service to others in your station.

Because the nature of the restaurant business is such that many closing shifts are late at night and opening shifts early in the morning, it is important to always be mindful of your surroundings and take personal responsibility for our safety. Learn to be observant and aware of your surroundings. Never leave personal valuable property unattended. Report safety related issues such as burned-out lighting or any physical damage to the restaurant immediately.  If working late, ensure exterior doors are locked as soon as all the guests have left. Do not let anyone into the restaurant after hours.  If suspicious activity or behavior is observed or if a crime occurs, make a mental note of the circumstances.  Attempt to obtain description of individual or vehicles involved.  Do not ever hesitate to call the police for assistance.  Do not assume someone else has reported the incident. Your safety is paramount to us. 

If you are injured while performing a work related task, please report the injury to your supervisor immediately. If you require medical attention, a supervisor will provide information on what hospitals or facilities to visit. Your manager will also give you information for the medical facility so that you are not responsible for treatment costs. If you do receive a bill form the hospital, please give it to you manager as soon as possible.

We have Worker’s Compensation which will cover the cost of your injury if you are hurt on the job.  Under certain conditions, Worker’s Compensation will provide payment to you for time lost due to a work-related injury.

If a guest or vendor is injured, make the injured person comfortable but do not discuss the incident with the guest. Do not make any commitment or admit fault, alert a manager or supervisor immediately so that they can fill out the correct paperwork. If the injury is serious have your manager assess the situation and call an ambulance. 

At Will Employment:  Employees of our restaurants are employed on an at will basis, meaning that an employee may leave our employment at any time for any reason, and we may terminate an employee’s employment at any time for any lawful reason.

Notice of Resignation:  An employee planning to resign or retire from the company should provide at least two weeks advance notice.  If less than two weeks’ notice is given, the employee may not be eligible for rehire and will be asked to not provide the Company as a reference.  Eat, Drink reserves the right to terminate an employee before the noticed resignation date; however, he or she will receive all accrued benefits if any exist.

References: Our managers operate under the food and beverage industry standard for giving references.  If you have been a stellar employee and you choose to leave our company to relocate or further your career, we will give you a positive written or verbal reference. If you are asked to leave the company for violating company policy, or if you fail to provide proper notice, we will limit our reference to verifying your dates of employment and title.  We will not discuss the details of your dismissal.

Job Abandonment:  Employees who fail to report to work or contact their supervisor for two (2) consecutive workdays shall be considered to have abandoned the job without notice effective at the end of their normal shift on the third day.  Employees who are separated due to job abandonment are ineligible to receive accrued benefits and are ineligible for rehire.

Reduction in Workforce:  An employee may be laid off because of changes in duties, organizational changes, lack of funds or lack of work.

Final Paychecks: Employees whose employment has terminated for any reason will receive their final paycheck on the next scheduled pay day, or earlier, if required by law.

Return of Property:  The separating employees must return all company property at the time of separation, including but not limited to uniforms, keys, equipment, and identification cards.  Failure to return some items may result in deduction from final paychecks.

Termination of Benefits:  An employee separating from the Eat, Drink Group is eligible to receive benefits as long as the appropriate procedures are followed as stated above. Two-week notice must be given, and the employee must work the full two workweeks unless requested otherwise by the Company. For those employees who receive health insurance, it terminates the last day of the month of employment unless the employee requests immediate termination of benefits. Information for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation (COBRA) continued health coverage will be provided.  Employees will be required to pay their share of the dependent health and dental premiums through the end of the month.

PTO: Paid Time off accrued does not carry over year over year and is forfeit at termination/separation or when notice is given.

Rehire:  Former employees who leave one of our restaurants in good standing and are classified as eligible for rehire may be considered for re-employment.  An application must be submitted, and the applicant must meet all minimum qualifications and requirements of the positions.

Bar from Employment:  An applicant or employee who is terminated for violating policy or who resigned in lieu of termination form employment due to a policy violation will be ineligible for rehire.

 We are obligated to provide you with this information and have done so.