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Jay-Z’s Club Faces Class Action Lawsuit
2-Jul-2008
Written by: Ivana Cheong
A NYC judge has approved the lawsuit that alleges the club violated minimum wage laws.
Workers from the Manhattan 40/40 Club have filed a class-action lawsuit under the name Celeste Williams, saying that the nightclub co-owned by rapper Jay-Z has been violating the workers’ rights and the state’s minimum wage laws.
According to MTV News, some of the claims made by former and current workers include: not being paid properly or at all for overtime; being forced to pay for bottle breakages out of personal paychecks; and having to pick up tabs of patrons who leave without paying.
The lawyer who represents the workers, Maimon Kirschenbaum, said, “I’ve had 15 to 20 lawsuits against restaurants in Manhattan, and I can say confidently that the practices at the 40/40 Club are unusual and among the worst I’ve seen.”
Ron Berkowitz, a spokesperson for the club, stressed that the suit is against the club, not personally against Jay-Z. He also said that the allegations are untrue and that the club will not settle the case. “They did nothing wrong, and we are moving forward with the case and putting it in the hands of the judge, because the club is innocent.”
“The basic claim is that our clients who worked at the 40/40 Club never received a paycheck while working there,” Kirschenbaum said. “On a weekly basis, there was no paycheck, which is illegal per the minimum-wage law requirements. And a lot of the waiters said their paychecks were eaten up by taxes on their tips. But even if that were true, then you would expect them to get some accounting of that.
“They also shifted the burden onto waiters, so if a bottle broke, the waiter would have to pay for the full price of the bottle, which is not just unusual but completely illegal.”
In addition, he said the workers were also paid for significantly fewer hours than they worked and were not paid the required time-and-a-half wage for overtime.
Kirschenbaum told MTV News that Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska’s ruling and approval of the case on Tuesday could open doors for hundreds of other workers to join the lawsuit. About 20 are represented currently, but FOX News said that Judge Preska has ordered management from 40/40 to release the names of all of their employees over the last three years.
The 40/40 Club has had other legal problems in the past, including not paying royalties to the songs that are played in the club. Kirschenbaum previously settled a similar suit for a “significant” amount against the B. B. King Blues Club in New York over waitstaff being forced to pay for bottle breakage. Since he had not been able to have full access to 40/40’s records, he cannot speculate how much the workers will be entitled to; but nevertheless, he told New York Post, "This is a good day for restaurant workers all over the city."
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