Restaurant Staff Class Action Settlement of $2.2 Million to Benefit Nearly 1,300 Workers

A restaurant staff class action settlement of $2.2 million has been reached among New York restaurant owners and a former busboy who filed a class and collective action complaint on behalf of himself and nearly 1,300 other employees.

Plaintiff Hector J. alleged that Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich, under the name Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group, failed to pay him minimum wage and overtime and that they instituted unlawful tip credit deductions from his pay.

Hector only worked at the restaurant named Felidia, but the settlement covers workers at all five of the owners’ New York restaurants. In addition to Felidia, the group owns Babbo, Becco, Del Posto and Esca. Waiters, busboys, servers, food preparers, runners, bartenders and bar-backs who work or worked at any of the restaurants are covered under the restaurant staff class action settlement.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 7, 2017, by Hector, who claimed Felidia restaurant didn’t pay him correctly when he bussed tables between October 2015 and January 2017.

Hector alleges when he worked 55 hours each week, he was only paid for a maximum of 45 hours. He claims he was denied meal breaks and because he was considered an employee who earned tips, he did not receive minimum wage. Because the allegations were systemic, the lawsuit covered the front-of-house staffers, all of whom are eligible for the restaurant staff class action settlement.

Hector’s initial amended complaint alleged, “Defendants failed to provide proper notice to the tipped subclass that a tip credit was being claimed, failed to indicate the tip credit allowance taken on weekly wage statements given to plaintiffs and FLSA collective plaintiffs, required plaintiffs and FLSA collective plaintiffs to spend at least two hours or 20 percent of each shift engaged in non-tipped activities and mandated tip pooling schemes without the consent of tipped employees.”

Restaurant Staff Class Action Settlement Does Not Find Fault

According to the terms of the restaurant staff class action settlement, the restaurateurs do not admit fault. They denied all of the lawsuit allegations in an answer to the lawsuit filed Feb. 12.

In addition to the wage and hour allegations he filed against the restaurateurs, Hector also alleged he was fired in January 2017 because of medical issues that kept him from carrying heavy materials.

Hector told his manager that a doctor found Hector to suffer from chronic neuralgia and sciatica, which were deemed medical disabilities. Hector asked his manager if he could refrain from carrying heavy boxes of wine up the stairs. He alleges his firing was a violation of the New York State Human Rights Law because he feels he was fired because of discrimination against his disability.

Batali is a well-known celebrity chef, and even though he is named in this lawsuit, he has left his management duties behind. His career took a hit when he was faced with allegations of sexual harassment by women who worked with him at the restaurants.

The Restaurant Staff Class Action Settlement is Case No. 1:17-cv-09622, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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