NEW YORK — Sushi Yasuda, a popular New York sushi restaurant, agreed to a $2.4 million wage claim settlement and is awaiting final court approval. The sushi restaurant is accused of numerous wage violations including failure to pay overtime and shorting employees on training wages and tips. Three waitresses brought the proposed class action in December 2012 alleging New York Labor Law and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations.
The Proposed Class
If the court approves the settlement, the proposed class, which was never certified by the court, will include current and former sushi chefs, bussers, and wait staff employee employed by Sushi Yasuda between December 2006 and May 2013. The employees must have worked for the company for at least 90 days to be eligible to share in the settlement. Settlement amounts will be based on the number of shifts worked during the time period.
Tipping Custom
Tipping is customary in the United States; however, Sushi Yasuda follows the Japanese custom of not accepting tips. The restaurant claims higher menu prices and higher wages compensate for the lack of gratuities. Despite the custom, the three waitresses who brought the lawsuit claim they received several hundred dollars in tips each night, but were required to give the money to their shift manager. They also claim the restaurant failed to pay proper minimum wage during training and proper overtime. And it allegedly failed to pay spread-of-hours premiums if employees worked split shifts or worked more than 10 hours a day, a New York state law.
Tipped Wages
Restaurant employers and others who employ individuals who regularly receive tips for their services are not required to classify or pay “tipped” employees differently than non-tipped employees, though there very few reasons not to classify them separately. If an employer does not differentiate between non-tipped and tipped employees, they are required to pay the normal set minimum wage to each employee, even during training periods. A few states do not differentiate between tipped and non-tipped employees when calculating and setting the state’s minimum wage.
The majority of states do have separate minimum wage levels for tipped and nontipped employees. If an employer does differentiate between tipped and nontipped employees, the employer must follow state and federal tipping requirements. These include meeting or matching minimum wage, allowing tipped employees to retain all of their earned tips, and only allowing tipped employees to participate and share in tip pools.
If you believe your employer owes you overtime or has improperly handled your tips, contact our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement. There are strict time deadlines for filing lawsuits so it is important to contact an attorney immediately.