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Wait Staff Sue Harvard Club Over Tips

BOSTON (AP) — Waiters at the exclusive Harvard Club of Boston have filed a lawsuit to claim the 17 percent gratuity they say the club tacks on to every bill, but which is not passed on to the wait staff.

The suit filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court says club members pay the surcharge on food and beverage bills which the club states is collected "in lieu of a gratuity." Workers say they do not get a penny of it.

The club is not affiliated with Harvard University, but many of its members are alumni of the Ivy League school and other elite universities. It has about 5,000 members.

Members tell The Boston Globe they just assumed the surcharge was a tip that went to staff.

Club management refused to comment.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

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