Restaurant Hospitality, October 3, 2011, Monday

Restaurant Hospitality

October 3, 2011, Monday

Restaurant Hospitality

How To Avoid Tip-Related Lawsuits

Do you agree with the idiom “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t?” Then click on http://www.waiterpay.com to find out the latest news on the labor front, courtesy of Berke-Weiss & Pechman LLP, one of the New York law firms that’s been wreaking financial havoc on the city’s restaurants. It’s full of scary stuff about tipping and wage issues—but it might be a useful resource, too.

Berke-Weiss & Pechman is just one of the law firms that has figured out how to wring huge settlements out of prominent New York City restaurants by filing wage-related class action suits. Attorney Louis Pechman got the ball rolling in 2009 when he scored a $3.2 million settlement on behalf of the employees of Sparks Steak House. That suit alleged that waiter tips at Sparks were spread around to managers and other employees who should not be tipped.