Manhattan Eatery Balzen Hit with Wage and Hour Lawsuit

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

The operators of Manhattan Mediterranean restaurant Balzen are the defendants in a proposed collective action filed over allegedly unpaid minimum, overtime and spread-of-hours wages.

The plaintiff was employed as a food runner, busboy and delivery worker by the defendants from November 2017 to October 2018, the complaint says. The suit argues the tip credit taken by the defendants was illegal in that the man was never appropriately notified of his reduced pay rate and was required to spend a significant portion—more than 20 percent—of each workday preparing food, cleaning the restaurant and handling other non-tipped duties.

The case goes on to allege the man was deprived of proper breaks during his tenure. Specifically, the plaintiff says he was only allowed to take 20-minute breaks when he worked double-shifts and claims he was usually interrupted during this time.

Lastly, the suit alleges that the plaintiff was regularly required to work beyond his scheduled shift for no additional pay and received no wages at all for his last week of work.