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September 18, 2008 9:42 AM
By Christine Kearney
NEW YORK - Celebrity French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has agreed to settle a lawsuit over tips filed by waiters at his swank New York restaurants for $1.75 million, court papers say.
Vongerichten, who owns restaurants in London, Paris and Shanghai as well as the Michelin-awarded Jean Georges in Manhattan, agreed to the payout after eight former waiters sued on behalf of all employees working at his New York restaurants Jean Georges, Spice Market, Perry Street, JoJo and 66.
The waiters claimed the restaurants deprived them of tips by sharing them with managers and not paying them for all hours worked. The lawsuit is one of the highest-profile cases in a spate of similar suits filed against New York restaurants in past years for cheating employees out of tips.
The settlement of $2.2 million includes more than $730,000
in lawyers' fees, according to settlement papers filed last
week that still await final approval by a federal judge in
Manhattan federal court.
The remaining $1.4 million would be divided up among staff
who worked at the restaurants during certain periods.
Plaintiffs' lawyers said they could not comment on the
settlement, and a lawyer for Vongerichten also declined
comment.
The settlement papers said all the restaurants denied
wrongdoing and that they had complied with labor laws, but
settled for a variety of reasons including the risk of the
outcome of ligation.
Other high-profile restaurants sued by waiters and former
staff for stealing tips and cheating on wages include Pastis,
the Robert De Niro co-owned Nobu New York, and hip-hop star Jay
Z's nightspot.
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