Serendipity 3 Wage and Hour Lawsuit

Fitapelli & Schaffer has filed a lawsuit against Serendipity 3's two restaurants located in New York City, in Times Square and on E. 60th Street. The class and collective lawsuit alleges unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Specifically, the lawsuit seeks to recover minimum wages, overtime wages, uniform maintenance pay, uniform reimbursement, and other damages for similarly situated workers. Affected employees include servers, runners, bussers, bartenders, and barbacks (“Tipped Workers”) who work or have worked at 225 E 60th Street, New York, NY 10022 and 157 W 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 (together the “Restaurants”).

This case follows a pattern we see often in the restaurant industry — see our page on Wage & Hour Violations for more on how tip credit and side work rules are supposed to protect tipped employees.

Tip Credit Notice Violations

The lawsuit alleges that the Restaurants paid Tipped Workers at or below the “tipped” minimum wage rate because the Restaurants failed to provide proper notification of the tipped minimum wage rate or tip credit provisions as required by the FLSA and NYLL.

Dual Occupation / Side Work

Tipped Workers were also required to perform side work at the start of each shift and the end of each shift, when the Restaurants are closed to the public, and also during service. As some of these duties are not related to plaintiff's duties as Tipped Workers, plaintiff and similarly situated Tipped Workers are engaged in dual occupations for which they're entitled to the full minimum wage.

Uniform Costs

Tipped Workers are also required to wear a uniform with the Restaurants' logo. However, defendants didn't reimburse Tipped Workers for the costs of the uniform or provide any uniform maintenance pay.

Wage Notice and Statement Violations

Finally, defendants failed to provide their Tipped Workers with proper annual wage notices as well as accurate weekly wage statements with each payment of wages mandated by the NYLL.

What to Do If This Affects You

If you, or anyone you know, has worked for one of Serendipity 3's Restaurants and has questions about how this lawsuit may affect their rights, don't hesitate to give us a call. You can also view the filed complaint here. As a Tipped Worker, it's important to know if you're being paid correctly or may be owed pay. Call us for a free phone consultation at (212) 300-0375 and make sure you aren't leaving any of your hard-earned wages on the table.

You can also view the filed complaint here.