Lupo Verde Restaurant in D.C. Sued for Wage Theft

Former cooks and dishwashers at Lupo Verde, a popular Italian restaurant in Washington D.C., have sued for unpaid overtime pay and other wage and hour violations. Lupo Verde, recently ranked among the “Top Ten Hottest Italian Restaurants in D.C.” by Zagat and written up in Zagat for having “reliably good food coming from the kitchen” allegedly paid its kitchen laborers at their regular hourly rate for overtime hours. According to the Complaint, the restaurant issued biweekly paychecks reflecting hours worked except when the workers accrued overtime hours. In those weeks the restaurant intentionally omitted the “hours worked” line from the pay stubs and paid all hours worked at the worker’s regular rate. The Complaint also alleged that the restaurant violated the notice, record-keeping and posting requirements of the District of Columbia Wage Payment and Collection Law. Attorneys for the workers are seeking unpaid wages in the amount of $87,576.00, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs.