Waiters sue De Niro eatery
2007-08-03 09:56
New York - Two former waiters employed by a Manhattan restaurant chain partly owned by actor Robert De Niro sued it over wages on Thursday in the latest legal battle involving celebrity-owned New York establishments.
The lawsuit, which does not directly name De Niro, accuses
Nobu, Nobu 57 and Nobu Next Door of failing to pay overtime and
unfairly splitting tips.
It is among several recent lawsuits to accuse New York
restaurants of wage violations and unfair labour practices.
New York restaurant staff are commonly paid tips instead of
full wages. But many including immigrant busboys and food
runners are underpaid and cut out of the larger tips, worker
advocates say.
The suit filed in Manhattan federal court says that more
than 100 waiters and busboys were cut out of their proper tips
at the three Nobu establishments, and that the tip pool
unfairly included managers and other usually untipped staff.
A spokesperson for Nobu did not immediately return calls for
comment.
Other lawsuits have accused celebrity French chef
Jean-Georges Vongerichten of not paying proper wages or
dividing tips at his upscale New York restaurants, and hip-hop
producer and rapper Jay-Z of paying incorrect wages at his
Manhattan nightclub.
Another famous chef, Daniel Boulud, agreed to settle a
discrimination lawsuit this week after workers at his Manhattan
restaurant Daniel accused the restaurant of promoting white
French workers ahead of non-white workers.
In yet another case, British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
was recently sued by a New York restaurant manager who said he
exaggerated the restaurant's conditions on his television
reality show Kitchen Nightmares.