News Reports Batali To Pay $5.25 Million
Here’s a reminder that like everyone else, celebrity chefs and restaurateurs are not off the hook from ensuring their restaurants comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and tip pooling laws. The costs for violations of wage and tip laws can be astronomical.
Mario Batali, the famed TV chef and New York restaurant owner, paid $5.25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 1,100 employees from 8 of his restaurants who accused him of tip skimming.
The lawsuit, filed in 2010, alleged that Batali and his business partner, Joseph Bastianich, violated FLSA and New York Labor Law by:
1) deducting 4 to 5 percent from the nightly tip pool from tips made from wine and other beverage sales to pay sommeliers and for management profits;
2) by claiming a tip credit but paying waiters below federal minimum wage; and
3) by failing to properly pay employees overtime.
The settlement was approved in September 2012 in New York federal court.
The class action members were servers, waiters, back waiters, bartenders, bussers, runners and captains at Batali’s restaurants, which included Babbo, Bar Jamon, Casa Mono, Esca, Del Posto, Lupa, Otto and Tarry Lodge. Attorneys for the plaintiffs asked for one third of the settlement for attorney’s fees and costs, and the rest of the settlement was for the plaintiffs themselves.
The amount restaurant workers received depended on the number of hours worked, the restaurant where they worked, and the percent of total tips received during their employment.
Is something like this happening to you or someone you know? Call an experienced server/bartender attorney such as Cohen Law Group today to learn about your rights as a server or bartender.
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