Eleven waiters, captains and busboys of 88 Palace Restaurant, on East Broadway, sued their employers for taking one quarter of their tips and paying below-minimum wages. In Heng Chan v. Sung Yue Tung Corp. (a/k/a 88 Palace Restaurant), U.S. District Court Judge Gerard Lynch ruled on Feb. 1 that the 15 percent “banquet service charge” – an extra gratuity commonly charged in Chinatown restaurants for large parties – is a tip and the employer may not pocket the sum. Lynch's opinion said the customer often assumed the extra charges were tips for servers. The workers were awarded close to $700,000 in back compensation.
Lawyers and advocates for the plaintiffs lauded Lynch’s opinion as precedent-setting, since it could impact thousands of tipped workers in service industries nationwide. Many Chinese waiters in New York are now taking their bosses to court, with deliverymen – who have been on the fringes of restaurant labor activism – joining in the latest fight against illegal and unsafe work conditions.
Ray Brescia, associate director of the Urban Justice Center, worked on the 88 Palace case and said, "We feel that this victory will send a message to any restaurant that confiscates its workers' tips that such practices are against the law. This is a landmark victory because of the amount of the damages and the clear message the judge sent to the restaurant owners."
A new lawsuit targets Ollie's Noodle Shop and Grille, a popular chain of Chinese restaurants in Manhattan. Dozens of deliverymen, delivery packers, servers, and busboys from Ollie’s locations at Lincoln Center, Times Square, and West 84th Street sued owners for paying them hourly wages of only $1.40 – below the legal minimum of $4.85 for delivery workers (it's $4.60 for waiters, who tend to be tipped more) – and other violations. The lawsuit was filed March 29 with the aid of the Urban Justice Center and the Shearman & Sterling law firm.
At a protest outside the Lincoln Center branch the same day, dozens of Ollie’s workers held placards reading “Pay Back Our Sweat-Earned Money" and “End Slave Labor.” Workers recounted the conditions they have worked under. Guiming Li, 33, a deliveryman who worked at the 84th Street Ollie’s for nine years, said he earned $750 monthly, but after deducting the gas and maintenance expenses for the motor bike he used for deliveries, he brought home only $250.
April Dong, 27, a server at the Times Square Ollie's, alleged her bosses forged fake pay records that claimed staff worked 20 hours weekly instead of 65 hours or more.
Waiter Zhenghuo Weng worked in take-out Chinese restaurants in Atlanta before he joined Ollie’s two years ago. He thought a “glitzy” restaurant like Ollie’s would provide better prospects. “I may have been ignorant of the law, but not anymore. If we unite, we will have more bargaining power against greedy bosses,” said Weng, who receives a monthly wage of $350 before tips and was harassed by his manager.
Tommy Chu, manager of the Ollie's in Times Square, refused to comment on the allegations, saying only, “Let’s wait for the court to decide whoever is right and whoever is wrong.”
