NYC Restaurant to Pay $1.2 Million Settlement For Unpaid Overtime

Serafina Management Group Ltd., a chain operating about a dozen Italian Restaurants in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia has agreed to pay $1,270,000 to current and former employees for unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Serafina allegedly failed to pay their employees the minimum wage, engaged in unlawful tip-pooling practices by keeping 3% of tips customers had put on charge and credit cards and requiring employees to make up customers’ tip shortfalls and walkouts. The New York City area entities covered under the settlement include Sofia Fabulous Pizza Corp., Sofia 61st Street Corp., Sofia 58th St. Corp., Serafina 77 West, LLC, Serafina Broadway, LTD., and Serafina Meatpacking LLC for actions from July 9, 2008 through February 24, 2016. The proposed class encompasses servers, baristas, bartenders, bussers and other workers at one of the six New York City Serafina locations who were paid at the tip-credit rate. Four individual named plaintiffs each agreed to individual settlements with Serafina for amounts ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 each. The nearly $1.3 million settlement will be distributed amongst the 1,031 Class Members on the final class list.