Lawsuit Lays Out Numerous Alleged Wage Violations at Brooklyn’s Nargis Cafe

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Two plaintiffs formerly employed by Brooklyn’s Nargis Café have filed a proposed class action against the eatery’s operating company and owner seeking to recover allegedly unpaid minimum, overtime and spread-of-hours wages, and unpaid tips. 

The complaint claims the defendants charge gratuity on all customer bills and retain a large portion of these tips. The plaintiffs allege in the suit that the defendants made it a policy and practice to use these tips to pay proposed class members’ underlying hourly wages. Throughout their time working for the defendants, the plaintiffs say they typically worked between 13 and 17 hours per day at least five days per week, with their pay remaining static no matter how many hours they worked. The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs and putative class members collectively paid the defendants around $1,500 from their earned tips each week for “hostesses, telephone reservation hosts and bartender salaries and expenses.” Further, the plaintiffs claim workers had to collectively pay the defendants $90 per day in what the café called “plates” expenses. 

Per their improper tip credit allegation, the plaintiffs say they spent a minimum of three to four hours each day, amounting to more than 20 percent of their total work time, performing non-tipped work around the restaurant for which they received no compensation at all.