A Dubious Distinction: Department of Labor Settles Record-Setting Enforcement Claim in 2009
In March 2009, State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith announced a record settlement with nine Asian restaurants in New York City which required owner Tsu Yue Wang to pay $2.3 million in minimum and overtime wage underpayments. In response to the allegations, Mr. Wang claimed that he was not the owner of the restaurants despite clear evidence that he maintained control.
According to a recently filed lawsuit, the hip and prestigious are not immune from the restaurant industry’s notorious defiance of wage and hour obligations. On December 21, 2009, Cipriani's event, catering and restaurant enterprise was sued for wage and hour violations. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that Cipriani unlawfully retained service charges paid by customers to the waitstaff and shaved time from records in order to pay workers for fewer hours than they actually worked. Aside from failing to pay overtime, unlawful tip pooling and time shaving are two of the most common restaurant industry wage violations.
