Valent & Cook Accused of Shortchanging Employees, Denying Overtime Pay

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Two operating companies and an individual owner of New York deli Valent & Cook are facing a former employee’s proposed collective action that claims the parties violated state and federal labor laws. The plaintiff in the case says he was employed by the defendants as a salad preparer between March 2013 and December 2017. According to the complaint, he regularly worked more than 40 hours per week but never received premium wages for his overtime hours. Even further, the suit claims the defendants altered the plaintiff’s paystubs to reflect fewer hours than he actually worked, denying him his due wages.

The complaint also alleges the defendants demanded that employees purchase “tools of the trade” – shoes and pants required to perform their job duties – without reimbursing them for their expenses.