Smith & Wollensky Suit Over Hourly Wages Gets Class-Action Certification
Smith & Wollensky must face a class- action lawsuit brought by a waiter who claims hourly workers at the steakhouse chain’s Chicago restaurant are paid less than the minimum wage.
Smith & Wollensky, a unit of closely held Patina Restaurant Group, is accused of failing to pay the minimum, now $8.25 an hour in Illinois, to employees who earn tips, including waitresses and bartenders. The lawsuit will cover such employees for earnings since March 25, 2006, U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo in Chicago said yesterday in an order certifying the case as a class action.
Also included are workers who worked more than 40 hours a week and were paid less than time-and-a-half. About 140 current and former employees may be represented by the suit, which seeks lost wages and unspecified further damages, said Douglas Werman, an attorney for the workers.
“Class certification is more efficient than individual suits to deal with these common questions,” Castillo wrote.
Smith & Wollensky, based in New York, violated a law allowing the payment of less than the minimum wage, or a so- called tip credit, if tips plus wages equal the minimum, according to the complaint filed by employee Gerald Schmidt.
The Chicago restaurant required workers to perform non- tipped duties before opening and closing, while still paying them the lower tip-credit hourly wage, Schmidt claimed. The company also allowed non-tipped employees to share in the tip pool, violating Illinois minimum-wage laws, he said.
Smith & Wollensky didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. The company, which has restaurants in nine cities, argued that the lawsuit was filled with “highly individualized” inquiries and shouldn’t be a class action, according to Castillo’s order.
The case is Schmidt v. Smith & Wollensky LLC, 09-cv-2752, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
To contact the reporter on this story: William McQuillen in Washington at bmcquillen@bloomberg.net.
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