Le Cirque Slapped With Wage Violation Lawsuit

Legendary New York City restaurant Le Cirque has been served a class-action lawsuit alleging that it broke New York state labor laws: In the lawsuit (.pdf), which was filed today in Federal Court, the plaintiffs allege Le Cirque paid employees under minimum wage, workers did not receive proper overtime compensation, and servers were forced to share tips with non-eligible employees (which the law defines as captains and other management staff).

Eater NY points out that the restaurant industry's "most litigious labor lawyer" Maimon Kirschenbaum is behind the suit: In 2009, Kirschenbaum sued Le Cirque on behalf of catering staff. In 2010, a Kirschenbaum lawsuit resulted in a $5.25 million settlement from Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich's restaurant group Pasta Resources Inc., after workers accused managers of skimming tips (among other wage violations).

· Le Cirque Gets Slammed With Tipping Lawsuit [Eater NY]
· All Lawsuit Coverage on Eater [-E-]