Oklahoma-based nonprofit Not Your Average Joe’s founder and executive director responded to a federal lawsuit regarding employee tips, minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping and child labor while making plans to reopen a Norman location.
The complaint against the coffee company was filed Sept. 11, with the U.S. Department of Labor suing founder and executive director Tim Herbel and the company for issues dating back to Sept. 12, 2023. The lawsuit also seeks an equal amount in liquidated damages, costs and an injunction against future violations.
Herbel compared the lawsuit to his late father’s experience with cancer, where a quarter was flipped to determine his treatment methods.
“Dad flipped a quarter for them, and it landed on tails, and the chemo killed him two weeks later,” Herbel said. “It’s exactly what the Department of Labor is doing to us. The pill that they’re wanting us to swallow will kill us.”
Herbel claims there are multiple things NYAJ has been found out of compliance for, but they were immediately resolved when brought to his attention in March. Herbel believes the subsequent fines are unreasonable, including multiple six-figure fines for child labor and employee tip allegations.
“We don’t feel like that’s a fair speeding ticket for a ‘first-time offender,’” Herbel said. “We’ve never been inspected by the DOL before. We did not do that maliciously. … It’s noble intent. We’re trying to help people learn a life skill and include them."
Herbel said after addressing the DOL allegations, he reached out to members of Congress to dispute the charges, which he states are egregious, and was in the midst of a settlement when the complaint was filed.
“We came to basically what’s called a negotiated settlement, with (the) DOL, and you know it was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,” Herbel said. “We thought we were going to sign Sept. 4, and our attorney did not hear from them. And then I got a phone call Friday night, Sept. 11, saying they decided to file.”
Herbel said NYAJ is still hoping for a negotiated settlement.
“We strongly contradict the wording of that complaint, 100%,” Herbel said. “Not just the wording of the complaint, but the factual — the nature of the complaint. Like we distributed tips. You know, it makes it sound like I was Oprah, ‘You get a tip. You don’t get a tip.’”
In a press release from Sept. 15, NYAJ wrote the company has implemented stronger training, payroll, tip, recordkeeping and equipment processes in response.
“We have owned any procedural error, corrected it, and will make employees whole for amounts legitimately owed. We will also be equally committed to factual accuracy where the government’s allegations do not reflect how our systems actually operated. Protecting employees and telling the truth about what happened are not competing values. We intend to do both,” NYAJ wrote.
NYAJ had a location on OU’s campus for five years through a lease agreement with Alameda Church of Christ, renting part of a building shared with the church's ministry, Sooners for Christ. The lease was not renewed, and NYAJ’s Norman location closed May 16.
Not Your Average Joe’s Norman location will leave campus after five years due to a non-renew…
According to Herbel, NYAJ plans to come back to Norman. The location would be on the north side of Campus Corner, but Herbel declined to confirm the exact location.
“We have identified a spot we want to be, and it's taken us a long time, but we're going to have to raise about $150,000 to remodel that space before we can get back on and do amazing food,” Herbel said.
Current NYAJ employee and Herbel’s stepson David Manning, who worked at the Norman location before transferring to the Midtown cafe as a supervisor, said he has had a great experience working with NYAJ.
“I have a lot of fun at my job. I meet a lot of really cool people at my job. I made genuine friends through my job, both my coworkers and just from people who come in as customers,” Manning said. “What I find is that my job sort of creates a lot of community, and that it’s a good way to serve my community and be an advocate for the people who may not have any.”
The DOL complaint came as a surprise to Manning and other employees, who knew about the investigation but not the impending lawsuit.
“I was aware of the investigation being held by the Department of Labor, but I wasn’t really expecting the lawsuit prior to it being announced,” Manning said. “It was more so I just went in to work one day, Tim came in and let me know what happened. And the rest of the day was just more and more people throughout the company trying to figure out what was going on.”
This story was edited by Spencer Windholz and Audrey McClour. Izzy Fletcher, Tori Pham and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
