Banquet Hall Employees Sue the DoubleTree Hotel

Banquet hall servers at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westchester, New York are suing for the hotel’s failure to pay minimum wages, overtime wages, spread-of-hours pay, unlawful deductions, and improper distribution of gratuities. According to the collective action lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, DoubleTree waiters were not paid for the overtime hours they worked. Employees regularly worked more than 60 hours per week but were only paid for 40 hours a week. Additionally, according to the Complaint, the hotel retained service charge payments made by customers even though they reasonably believed that money would be distributed as gratuities for the workers.  Furthermore, DoubleTree failed to reimburse its staff for the laundering and maintenance of their uniforms. The suit also alleges that employees did not receive the minimum wage and “spread of hours” pay required under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. Lawyers for the employees are seeking to recover their unpaid wages, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees.