Scanned First Amended Complaint 10-4-13
On July 25, 2013, Carlos Flores, Hermelindo Tendilla, Rafael Aldape and Francisco Delarosa-Atlatenco (“Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (S.D.N.Y.) on behalf of themselves and similarly situated “tipped workers” that worked at Harry’s Steak House (“Harry’s”) alleging that Harry’s unlawfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). The Plaintiffs are seeking to recover unpaid wages resulting from Harry’s failure to pay its employees their full minimum wages, earned tips and overtime earnings.
Harry’s is owned, operated and controlled by its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Poulakakos and his father Harry Poulakakos (collectively “Defendants”). Since opening in 2006, Harry’s has served as a Wall Street institution serving quality steakhouse food at high prices. Peter Poulakakos has opened 22 other well known restaurants in the downtown section of New York and is looking to increase that number over the upcoming year. Harry Poulakakos has remained a consultant to his sons business and can be found at Harry’s restaurant managing and greeting customers six days a week.
The Plaintiffs have been employed by the Defendants as Captains, Bussers, Runners and Servers at Harry’s from 2007 through the present. According to the Plaintiffs, the Defendants routinely fail to properly compensate its service employees as they are paid a reduced, tipped minimum wage. Furthermore Plaintiffs have been required to engage in a tip distribution scheme whereby tips are shared with Maitre d’s and Baristas, employees that are not entitled to tips under the FLSA or the NYLL. As a result of this practice, tipped workers at Harry’s have received overtime pay based on the improperly reduced minimum wage rate rather than overtime at the one and one-half times the full minimum wage rate to which they are entitled. The Plaintiffs also claim that Harry’s continuously failed to pay its employee for all hours worked, withheld tips earned from deliveries and maintained a policy and practice whereby unlawful deductions would be taken from Plaintiffs’ wages for any mistakes made regarding an order or customer walkouts. Should the Court agree with these claims, the Defendants will have violated the FLSA and NYLL and in turn owe lost wages to the Plaintiffs.
The restaurant industry is one of the biggest violators of the FLSA and NYLL. Thus, anyone who has worked at a restaurant as a server, busser, runner, bartender, host, or any other tipped position, during the past six years may have a wage claim. Please contact the employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, (212) 300-0375, to schedule a free consultation so that we can discuss your rights under the FLSA and NYLL.
Current and former employees working at Harry’s Steakhouse or any other Peter Poulakakos owned restaurant that have questions about the lawsuit, should contact Fitapelli & Schaffer at (212) 300-0375.