La Grotta Italian Grill Sued Over Unpaid Wage, Retaliatory Discharge Claims

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La Grotta Italian Grill and its owner are the defendants in a lawsuit filed by two former cooks who allege they were deprived of compensation for overtime work and were fired in retaliation for asking about their due wages.

The suit says the plaintiffs worked at the Fort Myers, Florida restaurant from September 2017 to September 2018, during which time they regularly clocked between 72 and 77 hours each week. The men claim they received a bi-weekly salary of $900 in cash that failed to provide payment for overtime hours and wasn’t accompanied by any wage statements.

Further, the case alleges that these potential wage violations were willful since the defendants tracked and were aware of employees’ work hours, despite not allowing workers to clock in and out themselves.

The plaintiffs go on to charge that they complained to the restaurant’s owner about their unpaid wages in July 2018 and again in August, to which the man responded that he “would not pay” for overtime work. The men claim the defendants unlawfully discharged them the following month even though they “performed their work satisfactorily” and there was no reason to terminate their employment.

All told, the plaintiffs allege they are each owed $9,881.28 of unpaid overtime wages.