NYC’s Benares Accused of Wage and Hour Violations

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Seventeen former employees of New York City’s Benares have filed suit against the restaurant’s operating company and six individuals who control the business over claims that the defendants violated federal and state wage and hour laws. The plaintiffs, who were employed as delivery workers and a dishwasher, say they regularly worked more than 40 hours per week without receiving proper minimum, overtime, and spread-of-hours wages. The defendants allegedly never provided them notice of a tip credit and required that they spend more than 20 percent of each shift performing non-tipped duties. The suit argues, therefore, that the defendants were not eligible for a tip credit and should have paid the plaintiffs the full minimum wage. On top of that, the complaint claims delivery workers were forced to surrender a portion of their tips to the cooks when customers tipped them more than $100.

The case further argues that employees were deprived of proper wage statements and notices and were unlawfully required to pay for “tools of the trade” – including bicycles, helmets, vests, lights, locks, maintenance, and kitchen shoes.