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Workers Sue N.Y. Restaurant Mogul for Withheld Tips and Unpaid Wages, According to Outten & Golden LLP |
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A group of restaurant workers allege in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that renowned restaurateur Sheldon Fireman's posh eatery -- Shelly's Prime Steak, Stone Crab & Oyster Bar -- misappropriated tips and paid workers less than the minimum wage in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York state labor laws. |
According to the law firm of Outten & Golden LLP, of New York, the lawsuit was brought by five former Fireman employees who also are members of the Restaurant Opportunities Center in New York (ROC-NY), a worker's rights organization.
Outten & Golden and co-counsel, the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action that includes servers, runners, bussers, and bartenders who have worked at Shelly's New York, which is located in midtown Manhattan near Carnegie Hall, since June 7, 2000.
According to the Complaint, "Defendants routinely take a portion of the tips earned by servers, bussers, bartenders, and runners, and redistribute them to restaurant managers. Defendants take another part of the workers' tips and apply it to the fees that credit card companies charge the restaurant. Both of these policies, as applied to the Shelly's workers, violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. This lawsuit seeks to recover the misappropriated tips and return them to the workers who earned them."
The lawsuit also alleges that the restaurant routinely fails to pay the statutory minimum wage for all hours worked, and fail to pay them proper overtime rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.
The lead plaintiff in the case, David Mohney, a New York resident and former server at the restaurant, stated, "Behind the elegant facade at Shelly's New York are the often unseen workers whose efforts may go unnoticed but do not deserve to go unpaid. We brought this legal action because we believe we are entitled to take home the tips and wages we earned."
The other named plaintiffs are Solvie Karlstrom, of New York, Benjamin McGroarty, of Los Angeles, Calif., and Christel Ferguson, of Queens, N.Y. They worked at the Fireman restaurants between 2001 and 2005.
Defendants in the case include Mr. Fireman, The Fireman Group Cafe Concepts Inc., also known as The Fireman Hospitality Group, the general manager of Shelly's, the vice president of operations of The Fireman Group, and the chief financial officer of The Fireman Group.
The lawsuit is the second case this year filed in federal court against one of Mr. Fireman's restaurants, according to the Complaint. In January, more than 50 current and former employees of the Redeye Grill, also members of ROC- NY, filed a suit alleging similar violations of federal and state laws.
According to a 2005 ROC-NY report, "Behind the Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City's Thriving Restaurant Industry," these lawsuits reflect a trend in the New York City restaurant industry. Sixty percent of the workers surveyed reported wage and hour violations and 25 percent reported tip misappropriations.
Justin M. Swartz, an attorney at Outten & Golden LLP, stated, "Blatant labor law violations can generate tremendous legal liability for the restaurant industry. Lawsuits like this are causing many industries to conform their pay practices to state and federal law. We hope that this lawsuit will put the New York restaurant industry on the path to change as well."
Anjana Samant, an attorney at Outten & Golden LLP, added, "The New York state labor law means what it says: tips belong to the servers who worked for them, not their supervisors."
Saru Jayaraman, Executive Director of ROC-NY, stated, "As one of the most prominent restaurant groups in New York City, the Fireman Hospitality Group is in an excellent position to set a high standard for fair and just working conditions in the restaurant industry. We hope that these legal actions will cause Shelly's and Redeye Grill to become examples for restaurants throughout the City to follow."
The case is "Mohney et al. v. Shelly's Prime Steak, Stone Crab & Oyster Bar," No. 06 CV 4270.
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