Manhattan’s Monte Pizzeria Faces Class Action Over Alleged Labor Law Violations

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A proposed collective action has been filed against the operating company of Manhattan’s Monte Pizza and one individual with control over the eatery. The plaintiff, a former tipped delivery employee, alleges that the defendants have violated federal and state labor laws.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was designated as a delivery worker in the restaurant’s payroll records, yet was required to spend a significant portion of his shifts performing non-tipped duties, such as food preparation and cleaning. The lawsuit claims the defendants intentionally misclassified the plaintiff in order to unlawfully withhold minimum wages from him. From the complaint:

“Defendants employed the policy and practice of disguising [the plaintiff’s] actual duties in payroll records… This allowed Defendants to avoid paying [the plaintiff] at the minimum wage rate and enabled them to pay him above the tip-credit rate, but below the minimum wage.”

The case further argues that the defendants failed to pay the plaintiff and other employees overtime wages and “spread of hours” pay while maintaining a policy that requires employees to work more than 40 hours per week. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the plaintiff and anyone who has been employed by the defendants up to three years before the complaint was filed.