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Restaurateur Tom Colicchio, Craft Restaurants Violated Federal and State Labor Laws, According to Outten & Golden LLP
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NEW YORK, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A new lawsuit alleges that famedrestaurateur and "Top Chef" celebrity judge Tom Colicchio and his nationwidechain of restaurants, Craft, Craftbar, and Craftsteak, violated the federalFair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law by misappropriatingemployee tips and withholding proper overtime pay, according to Outten &Golden LLP.
Nessa Rapone, a former Craftbar employee from Brooklyn, N.Y., filed suitThursday in New York federal court against Mr. Colicchio and Craft WorldwideHoldings, LLC, the company that operates Craft restaurants in Dallas, LosAngeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Ledyard, Conn.
The lawsuit alleges that, in addition to violating the wage and hour lawswith respect to Ms. Rapone and her co-workers, the defendants retaliatedagainst Ms. Rapone by terminating her employment in May 2007 after shecomplained about defendants' unlawful wage and hour policies.
According to the Complaint, the defendants violated the wage and hour lawsby denying employees tips they earned; redistributing portions of employees'tips to non-tip eligible employees; failing to pay proper overtimecompensation to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a work week; andengaging in other unlawful practices.
Justin M. Swartz, Linda A. Neilan, and Rachel Bien, of Outten & GoldenLLP's New York office, represent Ms. Rapone, and will seek to have the lawsuitcertified as a class action in order to recover unpaid wages, misappropriatedtips, spread of hours pay, attorneys' fees and costs, interest, liquidateddamages, and other damages for current and former hourly employees of Craftbrand restaurants nationwide.
Attorney Justin M. Swartz stated, "The Craft restaurants, all upscaleestablishments designed by well-known architects and catered by award-winningchefs, have earned Mr. Colicchio and his partners great success. This success,however, has come at the expense of the restaurants' hourly service workers towhom the defendants have denied proper minimum wages, overtime compensation,and tips they earned from customers."
Attorney Rachel Bien added, "Going forward, we hope that Mr. Colicchiowill use his status as a high-profile TV celebrity chef to set a good examplefor New York City restaurant owners with respect to workers' rights.Unfortunately, this lawsuit alleges that he has not done so in the past."
The defendants are Craft Worldwide Holdings, LLC, d/b/a Craft, Craftbar,and Craftsteak, and Tom Colicchio.
The case is "Nessa Rapone, et al., v. Craft Worldwide Holdings, LLC, etal.," (Southern District of New York, Case No. 08-10786).
Attorney Contacts: Justin M. Swartz and Rachel Bien, Outten & Golden LLP,New York, NY, 212.245.1000, http://www.outtengolden.com.
SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP
The lawsuit alleges that, in addition to violating the wage and hour lawswith respect to Ms. Rapone and her co-workers, the defendants retaliatedagainst Ms. Rapone by terminating her employment in May 2007 after shecomplained about defendants' unlawful wage and hour policies.
According to the Complaint, the defendants violated the wage and hour lawsby denying employees tips they earned; redistributing portions of employees'tips to non-tip eligible employees; failing to pay proper overtimecompensation to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a work week; andengaging in other unlawful practices.
Justin M. Swartz, Linda A. Neilan, and Rachel Bien, of Outten & GoldenLLP's New York office, represent Ms. Rapone, and will seek to have the lawsuitcertified as a class action in order to recover unpaid wages, misappropriatedtips, spread of hours pay, attorneys' fees and costs, interest, liquidateddamages, and other damages for current and former hourly employees of Craftbrand restaurants nationwide.
Attorney Justin M. Swartz stated, "The Craft restaurants, all upscaleestablishments designed by well-known architects and catered by award-winningchefs, have earned Mr. Colicchio and his partners great success. This success,however, has come at the expense of the restaurants' hourly service workers towhom the defendants have denied proper minimum wages, overtime compensation,and tips they earned from customers."
Attorney Rachel Bien added, "Going forward, we hope that Mr. Colicchiowill use his status as a high-profile TV celebrity chef to set a good examplefor New York City restaurant owners with respect to workers' rights.Unfortunately, this lawsuit alleges that he has not done so in the past."
The defendants are Craft Worldwide Holdings, LLC, d/b/a Craft, Craftbar,and Craftsteak, and Tom Colicchio.
The case is "Nessa Rapone, et al., v. Craft Worldwide Holdings, LLC, etal.," (Southern District of New York, Case No. 08-10786).
Attorney Contacts: Justin M. Swartz and Rachel Bien, Outten & Golden LLP,New York, NY, 212.245.1000, http://www.outtengolden.com.
SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP
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