On November 19, 2014, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the owners of \u201cThe Palm\u201d restaurants, including New York locations such as: \u201cThe Palm\u201d located at 250 West 50th Street; \u201cThe Palm\u201d located at 837 Second Avenue; \u201cThe Palm Too\u201d located at 840 Second Avenue; \u201cThe Palm Restaurant\u201d located at 206 West Street; \u201cThe Palm Restaurant at Huntting Inn\u201d located at 94 Main Street; and \u201cThe Palm Bar and Grill\u201d located at JFK Airport, International Terminal 4 on behalf of all servers, server assistants, back waiters, bussers, runners, bartenders, barbacks, and other \u201cTipped workers\u201d who have worked at these restaurants.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges that the owners of these restaurants have instituted widespread unlawful policies which burden the rights of their employees and violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (\u201cFLSA\u201d) and the New York Labor Law (\u201cNYLL\u201d). The Plaintiff class alleges that Defendants have paid their employees a weekly paycheck below both the Federal and New York minimum wage rates. The Plaintiff class also alleges that Defendants failed to compensate their employees at a time-and-a-half rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek, as required under the FLSA and the NYLL. Additionally, they claim that Defendants utilized other methods to skim hours off their employee\u2019s recorded work hours and otherwise maintain inaccurate time records. For instance, the Plaintiff class states that Defendants held required meetings at the beginning of morning shifts without allowing employees to clock-in and record their hours spent at the meeting. The Plaintiff class also states that these meetings were accompanied by mandatory morning meals, which employees were charged for regardless of whether or not they were actually in attendance. They also allege that Defendants required employees to be clocked out by a manager in order to receive their tips, which often meant that they ended up being clocked out prior to the completion of their work day.<\/p>\n
The class action further claims that Defendants failed to properly utilize the NYLL or FLSA \u201ctip credit\u201d provision. Specifically, they claim that Defendants failed to properly notify their employees of the \u201ctip credit\u201d provision, or of their intent to apply a tip credit to their wages. Yet, they still paid their employees at the reduced minimum wage, which is unlawful when not properly supplemented by a \u201ctip credit\u201d. The Plaintiff class also claims that Defendants unlawfully misappropriated their tips. They claim that Defendants unlawfully demanded, handled, pooled, counted, distributed, accepted, and retained their tips. Additionally, they claim that Defendants unlawfully allocated tips and mandatory service charges received from private events to employees who were not entitled to tips under the FLSA and\/or the NYLL, such as glass polishers.<\/p>\n
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, the Plaintiff class claims that Defendants required employees to wear uniforms and forced employees to bear the costs of tailoring and cleaning those uniforms.<\/p>\n
We are seeking to represent all servers, server assistants, back waiters, bussers, runners, bartenders, barbacks, and other \u201cTipped workers\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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