Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
Connell Foley LLP Managing Partner Tim Corriston and Associate Nikki Alieva recently facilitated the early settlement of a suit against their client, a family-owned catering business, for alleged conversion and violation of a section of the New York Labor Law that prohibits an employer’s retention of its employees’ gratuities, Section 196-d.
Filed by former delivery workers, the suit claimed that Connell Foley’s client withheld gratuities earned by the employees by (a) maintaining a no-tipping policy and instead paying the employees in excess of the minimum wage; and (b) requesting that third-party applications, such as GrubHub and Seamless, refund corporate-customer tips prior to the employer’s acceptance of orders placed through the third-party platforms.
Despite a pending motion to certify the class and convert the action into a substantial class action, Connell Foley LLP successfully moved to stay the action and compel the matter to arbitration pursuant to employment agreements executed by the former employees. As a result, plaintiffs’ counsel requested early resolution through settlement.