On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, Fitapelli & Schaffer filed a class and collective action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Grovehouse Hospitality, LLC (“Grovehouse” or “Defendants”). The lawsuit is filed on behalf of all servers, runners, bussers, bartenders, barbacks and other “Tipped Workers” who work or worked at Misi or Lilia, owned and/or operated by Grovehouse Hospitality, LLC, Grovehouse Hospitality Holdings, LLC, Woodfire Collision LLC, Misi Domino LLC, Melissa Robbins, and Sean Feeney.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges Defendants paid Tipped Workers at or below the “tipped” minimum wage rate because the company failed to provide proper notification of the tipped minimum wage rate or tip credit provisions as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Tipped Workers, at Lilia, were also forced to share tips with employees who were ineligible to receive tips under the FLSA and NYLL, such as expeditors, who had no customer interaction. Also Defendants required Tipped Workers to regularly perform non-tipped work, known as side work, that was unrelated to their tipped occupation. This side work was in excess of 20% of Tipped Employees’ time during individual workweeks and included but was not limited to: 1) traveling to the restaurant’s storage unit, about a block away, to retrieve supplies and linens, 2) cleaning the expeditor station, 3) refilling service stations, 4) refilling and organizing cabinets, 5) polishing glassware, 6) cleaning lamps, 7) emptying garbage cans throughout the restaurant, 7) folding napkins, 8) restocking plateware, 9) organizing napkins, aprons, and other supplies in the backroom, and 10) sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor among other tasks. While this work should have been compensated at the full minimum wage rate, the lawsuit alleges that Grovehouse paid its Tipped Workers sub-minimum, tip-credit hourly wages in violation of the FLSA, and NYLL. Finally, Defendants failed to provide its Tipped Workers with proper annual wage notices as well as accurate weekly wage statements with each payment of wages mandated by the NYLL.
If you, or anyone you know, has worked for Lilia and Misi and have questions about how this lawsuit may affect their rights, do not hesitate to give us a call at (212) 300-0375. You can also view the filed complaint here.
The restaurant industry is unfortunately commonplace for a variety of wage violations. As a tipped worker, it is important to know if you are being paid correctly or may be owed pay. Call us for a free phone consultation at (212)300-0375 and ensure you aren’t leaving any of your hard earned wages on the table. You can also visit our website here.