The wait staff of the Harvard Club of Boston is suing their employer for violating the Massachusetts “Tip Law,” alleging that the club management charged service charges which management then failed to distribute to workers.

According to the complaint filed by the workers, club management instructed members not to tip the wait staff, leading members to believe instead that the “service charges” attached to bills were charged “in lieu” of a gratuity and would be delivered to workers. The plaintiffs are asking for compensation as well as a policy change that would ensure that this kind of “deception” does not happen again.

The Harvard Club of Boston is a private business open to Harvard graduates as well as graduates of “selected affiliate colleges and universities,” according to its website. The club is not associated with Harvard University.

The suit comes as the club and its wait staff are in contract negotiations.  The club was recently cited by the local chapter of the National Labor Relations Board for violating labor codes by providing an “unreasonable delay in providing information during bargaining.” Brian Lang, president of UNITE HERE! Local 26, the union which represents Harvard Club of Boston wait staff and Harvard dining hall workers, called the practice of pocketing money meant for wait staff employees “despicable.”

“Not only are they bargaining in bad faith, now they are tricking their members and stealing tip money from their workers,” Lang said. “It’s infuriating—they are the most dishonorable employer I have ever dealt with.”

Lang said that the issue was called to his attention when a union member brought in a memo advertising the club to clients and non-members. He said that the Local 26 staff noticed the pamphlet advertised the surcharge at the end of meals as a substitute for a gratuity, despite the fact that workers were not receiving any tip money.

“I suspect that this has been going on for decades,” Lang said.  “And what’s really upsetting is that it could have continued if we hadn’t happened to run across it.”

The Harvard Club could not be reached for comment.One students said he regretted the nominal association between the club and the University.

“The Harvard elite are having these fancy meals and wonderful events, and meanwhile the workers are really suffering,” said William P. Whitham ’14, a member of the Student Labor Action Movement. “It’s disturbing that this is a club that I could potentially join.”

Lang urged Harvard Club members to take a closer look at their labor practices and to fight for justice on behalf of the wait-staff employees.

“If I were a Harvard Club member, I would be asking some hard questions,” he said. “I would be asking for more information about the negotiations and I would be demanding more equality for the custodial staff.”

—Staff writer Mercer R. Cook can be reached at mcook@college.harvard.edu.