Dinosaur BBQ Lawsuit Filed

On March 26, 2015, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Dinosaur Restaurants, LLC, JLN-Store, Inc. f/k/a Dino-Store, Inc., Soros Strategic Partners LP, and John Stage, who collectively own and operated the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que franchise.  This lawsuit is specifically filed on behalf of all servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, and other “Tipped Workers” who work or have worked at the following Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurants: the Harlem location at 700 West 125th Street, New York, New York 10027; the Brooklyn location at 604 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215; the Syracuse location at 246 West Willow Street, Syracuse, New York 13202; the Buffalo location at 301 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202; 99 Court Street, Rochester, New York 14604; and the Troy location at 377 River Street, Troy, New York 12180.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a chain of rapidly growing barbecue restaurants originating in Syracuse, New York in 1988.  Since then, it has expanded to soon include 10 full service restaurants.  In addition, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que offers multiple styles of sauces and condiments sold online and at supermarkets.  In addition to its economic successes, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has accumulated multiple accolades and has been featured on various network television programs.

The lawsuit alleges that the owners of these restaurants have instituted widespread practices and policies which unlawfully burden the collective rights of their employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”).  The class action lawsuit first alleges that Defendants failed to properly utilize the NYLL or FLSA “tip credit” provision.  Specifically, they claim that Defendants failed to properly notify their employees of the “tip credit” provision, or of their intent to apply a tip credit to their wages.  Further, they allegedly required their employees to perform a significant amount of side work, such as stocking, cleaning, rolling silverware, brewing coffee, refilling condiments, and setting up stations, which accounted for over 20% of their work time.  Tipped workers are required to be paid at the full minimum wage rate when they spend over 20% of their day performing non-tipped “back-of-the-house” type duties.  Yet, Defendants still paid their employees at the reduced minimum wage for all hours worked, despite the significant amount of side work they were required to perform.  Accordingly, Plaintiff alleges that tipped workers were entitled to the full minimum wage rate for all hours worked under 40 per workweek.  The lawsuit also alleges that Defendants failed to pay the Plaintiff class the proper overtime rate of one and a half times the full minimum wage rate for all hours worked over 40 per workweek.  The Plaintiff class also claims that Defendants unlawfully misappropriated their tips.  They assert that up until the end of 2013 at host in-house gatherings where customers reserve dining space and prepay for the cost of food, tipped workers were required to share 17% of their tips with back of house kitchen workers, and pay a 10$ management fee to managers.  Neither of these classes of employees is legally entitled to tips under the FLSA or the NYLL.

The lawsuit alleges that Defendants failed to provide spread-of-hours pay to their employees.  Employees who work over 10 hours in a single day, including working time plus time off for meals plus intervals off duty, are required by law to receive an additional hours pay from their employer.  The lawsuit also alleges that the owners of these establishments further violated the NYLL through their failure to provide their employees with proper wage notices and statements.  Lastly, Plaintiff asserts that Defendants failed to maintain accurate records of wages, tips earned, or hours worked by their employees.

We are seeking to represent all servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, and other “Tipped Workers” who work or have worked for Defendants.  Eligible employees should contact us in order to join the case.  For additional information, please call the employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website at www.fslawfirm.com.