New York City’s Gramercy Tavern Will Pay $695,000 to Restaurant Workers for Wage Theft

New York City’s Gramercy Tavern Will Pay $695,000 to Restaurant Workers for Wage Theft

May 26, 2017
December 20, 2017
New York City’s Gramercy Tavern Will Pay $695,000 to Restaurant Workers for Wage TheftWaiter Pay logo simple

Gramercy Tavern, the popular Danny Meyer-owned upscale eatery located in New York City’s Flatiron District has agreed to pay $695,000 to current and former restaurant workers for wage theft violations, including an allegedly illegal tip pool and failure to pay workers the minimum wage.  The lawsuit, brought by two former bussers, claims Gramercy Tavern engaged in unlawful tip pooling practices by requiring service employees, such as service staff, bussers, runners, captains, and other service workers to share their tips with non-service employees. According to the lawsuit, these non-service employees included expeditors, silverware polishers, wine managers, and other workers who did not regularly and customarily interact with customers. The bussers had claimed Gramercy Tavern used a tip credit to pay its workers at the tipped minimum wage, despite retaining a portion of the tips shared by employees and requiring them to participate in the illegal tip pool with non-service employees.  Employers may not use a tip credit unless the service employees retain 100% of all tips and gratuities they receive. The workers also alleged that Gramercy Tavern required clients to pay an automatic “service charge” of 20% of the total bill for private events, but that none of these gratuities were distributed to the event’s service workers, in violation of the New York Labor Law. The settlement will be distributed to approximately 220 waiters, waitresses, captains, bussers, food runners, and coffee runners who worked at Gramercy Tavern at any time between June 23, 2011 and September 15, 2016.  The settlement was approved on May 17, 2017 by Judge James C. Francis, a federal judge in New York.  

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