Tag: minimum wage

TGI FRIDAY’S SETTLES WITH 14 PLAINTIFFS IN CLASS ACTION SUIT

Last year, the parent company of popular restaurant, TGI Friday’s, was sued in New York federal court by restaurant workers claiming to have been shorted on wages when performing side work and “off-the-clock” work. Specifically, it was alleged that tipped workers were required to perform work during off-hours without receiving minimum wage and overtime, and management manipulated employee time records to permit “off-the-clock” non-tip producing side work such as cleaning and preparing food. Plaintiffs sought to recover unpaid minimum wages and overtime, misappropriated tips, unlawful deductions and other wages under The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law.

Earlier this week, TGI Friday’s agreed to settle the claims of 14 members of the FLSA class. U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres approved of all settlements, which ranged from $2,500 to $82,000. Several other named plaintiffs and opt-in plaintiffs still remain in the case.

The case is Flood, et al. v. Carlson Restaurants, Inc., No. 14-cv-2740.

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES IN YEAR 2015

The new year brings an increase in the hourly minimum wage for workers in various states, including New York and New Jersey. Effective December 31, 2014, the minimum wage rate in New York state rose 9% from $8.00 to $8.75 per hour, and New Jersey’s minimum wage rate modestly increased from $8.25 to $8.38.

Although New York’s minimum wage rate is again set to increase to $9.00 per hour by the end of 2015, Governor Cuomo announced a proposal yesterday which would raise the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour in New York City and $10.50 an hour in the rest of the state, if passed by the legislature. Cuomo stated that a wage increase was necessary due to New York’s high cost of living.

NY ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA FRANCHISEE FOR $2 MILLION

Earlier this month, New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued the owners of five Papa John’s pizza restaurants located in New York City for $2 million.  Papa John’s has been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General regarding its pay practices. 

The lawsuit claims that defendants underpaid more than 400 delivery workers, failed to pay overtime, and shaved down workers’ hours.  The suit also alleges that pizza delivery workers received as little as $5.00 per hour for their work, which is far lower than the state’s minimum wage requirement, and required delivery workers to pay for and maintain their bike equipment needed for deliveries.

This firm will continue to monitor the developments in this case.

FAMOUS MIDTOWN DELI SET TO PAY $2.65 MILLION TO SETTLE FLSA LAWSUIT BROUGHT BY STAFF

Carnegie Deli has made an agreement in principle to pay approximately 25 current and former waiters, waitresses, bus boys and cooks a total sum of $2.65 million, with an average pay-out of $106,000 per employee.  The workers claim that their hourly pay was between $2.50 and $3.00, and thus below minimum wage and that they also did not receive overtime pay.

  The workers further allege that the owners also subtracted pay for hour-long lunch breaks that were never taken and paid back-of-the-house workers off the books in violation of federal laws.

Both sides had previously agreed that half of the settlement would be paid upfront and the other half a year later.  However, lawyers have informed the judge in the case that one of the owners wished to alter the arrangement by paying out the settlement over the course of four years.

NAIL SALON WORKERS FILED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST ENVY NAILS FOR FAILURE TO PAY MINIMUM WAGE AND SPYING

Manicurists have filed a class action complaint again Anna Do, owner of Envy Salon, in a Manhattan Federal Court.  Do is the owner of more than 50 nail salons in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Plaintiffs allege that Do fails to pay her employees less than minimum wage and sometimes as little as $5.00 per day.  They are paid off the books, and even with tips, Plaintiffs claim that they are paid less than what is required under the law.  Plaintiffs state that most of the workers at Envy Salon have recently arrived from Mexico and Ecuador and are taken advantage of by Do.  When visited by government inspectors, Do also instructs the workers to falsely identify themselves as independent contractors, as opposed to employees.  These practices are common in the manicure and salon industry because the owners can take advantage of recent immigrants and non-English speaking employees.

This firm will continue to monitor further developments in this case.

DOMINO’S PIZZA FINED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IMPROPER PAY PRACTICES

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently announced a $448,000 settlement with six Domino’s pizza franchisees operating in New York.  The business owners paid workers less than the $5.65 per hour tipped minimum wage and failed to pay adequate overtime, thereby violating wage and hour laws.  Specifically, delivery drivers were inadequately paid for their work, some receiving only $5.00 per hour, and workers who used their cars to deliver pizza were not reimbursed for their expenses.

  Moreover, employees were shifted from one store to another just before they were to reach 40 hours worked, and a manual override or a system flaw in the timekeeping system prevented an accurate calculation of the overtime worked. The settlement money will be dispersed among approximately 750 employees.

The Attorney General is also investigating Papa John’s franchisees.

CHICKIE’S AND PETE’S TO PAY $6.8 MILLION FOR VIOLATING WAGE AND HOUR LAWS

Chickie’s and Pete’s, a prominent sports bar with 9 locations throughout New Jersey and Philadelphia, has recently agreed to pay $6.8 million in back wages and damages for taking tips from bartenders and waiters and for violating federal minimum wage and overtime laws.  The U.S. Department of Labor conducted a year long investigation and found that Chickie’s and Pete’s illegally underpaid and took tips from 1,159 servers and improperly retained 60% of the monies from the staff members’ tip pool, which was known as “Pete’s Tax.” 

 Separately, Chickie’s and Pete’s also announced that it agreed to pay an additional $1.68 million to settle a wage and hour claim commenced by 90 current and former employees.  As part of the settlement, Chickie’s and Pete’s also agreed to train all employees regarding their rights under the wage law and operation of tip pools and agreed to compliance monitoring for 18 months. 

The Department of Labor has described this case as one of the largest cases ever brought against an employer for violating tip-credit laws.

NEW JERSEY IS AMONG 14 STATES TO HAVE INCREASED ITS STATEWIDE MINIMUM WAGE

Last November, New Jersey residents successfully voted to increase the state minimum wage by one dollar.  As such, legislation signed by Governor Chris Christie increased the statewide hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25, effective January 1, 2014. 

   New Jersey is among  14 states to implement higher wage increases, including, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.  New Jersey is now tied with Connecticut, Washington D.C. and Illinois, as the fourth state in the nation for the highest minimum wage, following Oregon, at $8.95 per hour, Vermont, at $8.60 per hour, and Washington, at $9.19 per hour.  Interestingly, however, of the states tied for fourth place, only New Jersey’s minimum wage rate incorporates annual wage increases tied to the cost of living.