Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza locations in Woodbury and Wantagh, New York and their owners have been sued by former cooks, dishwashers, and a waiter for failing to pay their employees overtime, minimum wage, and spread-of-hours pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the lawsuit, the restaurant failed to pay restaurant workers overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The restaurants allegedly denied workers overtime pay by paying them at the same hourly rate for all hours worked, or “straight time.” For example, one cook allegedly worked between 50 and 105 hours per week. The lawsuit claims that the cook was paid the same hourly rate for all hours he worked including the hours over 40 per workweek. Under the FLSA, restaurant employees must be paid at a rate of time-and-a-half (1.5x) for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The lawsuit also alleges that Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza failed pay its waiters at the statutory minimum wage. The former waiter worked approximately 55 hours per week and for the last year of his employment there his pay fell below appropriate minimum wage. In New York, the minimum wage varies from, $11.10 to $15.00 per hour depending on the location of the restaurant and, in New York City, the size of the restaurant.
The lawsuit also claims that cooks and dishwashers often worked shifts that were approximately 12 hours long, but they never received the “spread of hours” pay they was entitled to them after working shifts lasting more than 10 hours. In New York, a restaurant worker whose workday is longer than ten hours must receive an extra hour of pay at the minimum hourly wage in addition to pay for the actual hours worked.
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