NYC Diner Workers Say Their Bosses Rip Them Off On Wages

Wage theft at New York City diners was the subject of an excellent article in the Gothamist. The article notes that wage theft is “a problem that plagues thousands of restaurant workers in New York City.” According to Gothamist, among the 371 eateries across the city that identified themselves as diners or coffee shops, workers have sued nearly one-quarter of them for underpayment over the last ten years.

One of the cases mentioned in the article concerned the workers of Galaxy Diner, where a group of fifteen former busboys and servers sued for unpaid minimum wage and overtime violations, recovering a settlement of $325,000. The Gothamist article also described an ongoing lawsuit, against Waverly Restaurant, an iconic West Village diner, who according to Gothamist, “illegally underpaid eight employees by hundreds of thousands of dollars each, taking advantage of their ignorance of the law, all while racking up profits.” The workers at Galaxy Diner and Waverly Restaurant were represented by Pechman Law Group.

Restaurant workers in New York have the right to minimum wage and overtime pay at time-and-a-half for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The attorneys of Pechman Law Group have represented hundreds of restaurant workers in wage theft cases, recovering millions of dollars in back wages and damages.