Mario Batali Restaurant Workers Win $5.25M Class Action Settlement

Celebrity TV chef and New York restaurant owner Mario Batali has been ordered to pay $5.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing Batali and his associate, Joseph Bastianich, of cheating workers out of their full tips, as well as failing to pay them overtime and minimum wage.

Servers at eight New York City restaurants owned by Batali and Bastianich filed a class action wage lawsuit in 2010 alleging their employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law by pocketing gratuities equal to as much as 5 percent of nightly wine sales.

“Mr. Batali, Mr. Bastianich, and their restaurants unlawfully confiscated a portion of their workers’ hard-earned tips in order to supplement their own profits,” employees said in their class action lawsuit.

The class action lawsuit further charged Batali and Bastianich with unlawfully taking a “tip credit” and paying employees less than minimum wage, and failing to pay them spread-of-hours pay when they worked more than 10 hours a day.

As many as 1,100 employees will share in the class action lawsuit settlement. Eligible employees include captains, servers, waiters, bussers, runners back waiters, bartenders and barbacks who work or worked at Babbo, Del Posto, Bar Jamon, Casa Mono, Esca, Lupa, Otto and Tarry Lodge between July 22, 2004 and February 14, 2012. Employees will automatically be included in the settlement unless they opt out.

The case is Capsolas v. Pasta Resources Inc., et al., Case No. 10-cv-5595, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).