Chefs Face Revenge of the Busboys

by Jason Best, Posted Sep 3rd 2010 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images

Nothing quite spoils a $35 plate of lobster risotto like the specter of revolution.

A kind of proletariat fever appears to be sweeping through some of New York's finest restaurants. Forget picket lines, though. These workers are dragging their celebrity-chef bosses to court.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, famed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is the latest in a string of prominent restaurateurs to face lawsuits alleging violations of state and federal labor laws. A former employee of his New York City restaurant, Morimoto, is filing suit for depriving him of tip money.

A similar suit was also filed this week against chef Chris Cannon and his business partner, Michael White, purveyors of such choice cuisine as salt-cod rigatoni and swordfish-belly confit at their three-star eateries Alto, Convivio and Marea.

This comes a month after the city's seemingly most indefatigable gastronome, Mario Batali, was slapped with a federal suit by two employees who claim they were cheated out of their tips while working at Batali's flagship restaurant, Babbo. That suit has morphed into a class-action affair, with nearly 20 more angry ex-employees piling on.

Although the allegations vary, the suits generally seek unpaid wages and tips, often claiming that workers did not receive sufficient overtime pay and that their tips were improperly distributed.

"Small-, medium-, and large-sized operators have the best of intentions to comply with all the labor laws, but they are fearful that a small mistake related to a complex labor law could potentially result in a suit," one industry insider told the Wall Street Journal.

But others aren't so charitable.

As Cynthia Estlund, a professor at the New York University School of Law, put it: "I think there are a lot of practices in the restaurant industry that were going on for a long time that were ripe for litigation."

Filed Under: Chefs
Tags: celebrity chefs, lawsuits, mario batali, masaharu morimoto, morimoto

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Reader comments (Page 3 of 3)

9-08-2010 @5:41PM sajwife said... Just curious, did any of these people go to the boss and ask where the tips were? It seems to me there is a manager involved somewhere. Most tips are on the receipts, which are easy to figure out. If tip is left on the table, that's easy too. There really doesn't seem to be an issue here, other than greed.
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9-08-2010 @5:45PM Sajwife said... Everyone knows what salary is before they are hired, so why are they complaining. They know if they want to earn more, they have to work harder. Some folks eating at pricey places think they shouldn't leave a tip because the price of the food is so steep. Somewhere in their convoluted minds, they think tips should be paid out of that total. Some people are really cheap and the owners shouldn't suffer for it, other than maybe don't charge so much for the dishes in the first place.

It's a shame when refusing to tip an expensive meal might be taken out on an employee.
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9-08-2010 @7:14PM S.S. said... John didn't mean as a human being.....for God's sake......it's how much the server was worth aqs a component to the patron's total dining experience......John.....be a mench, write something they can more easily understand.......
That said......in my places (3 over 20 yrs.) I NEVER......I repeat NEVER pooled tips.......that is disgusting......I still think.....who the hell do these people think they are, taking some's personal earnings and splitting it equally with everyone else......I had waitstaff who made $200 per, mand other who could barely ever break $100....and I was NOT because the lower ones had all the recooks or assbite patrons....
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9-08-2010 @7:24PM John said... This country needs a complete overhaul on labor laws. Many companies are taking advantage and putting the screws to employees in this economy.
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9-09-2010 @1:47PM Nico Toscani said... I'm not surprised to hear that Mario Batali is a scumbag who would
cheat his employees. I ran into him at a fancy Chicago restaurant and
he was drunk, rude and smelled like an unwashed a*shole. The bigger
question is why are restaurants allowed to ignore immigration laws
and have a kitchen full of illegals? Because almost without
exception, that is what you will find.
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9-08-2010 @10:50PM Jean said... What really bothers me is that the expected tip keeps going up. Years ago it was 5 or 10%. Then 15% was the norm. Now we have to pay 20% or be considered a cheapskate. What's next? 50%, 75%...
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9-08-2010 @8:08PM Dean said... Restaurants expect the public to pay their help so they don`t have to.
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9-08-2010 @8:20PM Toby said... I am keenly aware of "Tip Games" in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Many of the people being stiffed are afaid to say anything for fear of retaliation , termonation etc

Another industry that has marched to its own dreummer is the automobile sales industry-again, there is a fear that if an employee asks for what he has legitimately earned and is owned, he will be called a "Bus Driver" and will be black balled by other dealerships.

Similar to the food biz, the people that are victimized are fearful of retaliation-Unions could be a possible solution to this sort of Bullying activity. I know that Unions have hurt many states and industries but I think it is a resonable solution to some of the CS fat cats that live the good life at weaker employee's expense.
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