Owner Can’t Skip Out On NYC Thai Eatery Wage, OT Suit


By Joyce Hanson, Law360 (March 25, 2019) —A New York federal judge has refused to let a restaurant owner exit a class action brought by employees from several now-closed Thai eateries in Manhattan, ruling the class has sufficiently shown he is responsible for alleged minimum wage and overtime violations.

A New York federal judge has refused to let a restaurant owner exit a class action brought by employees from several now-closed Thai eateries in Manhattan, ruling the class has sufficiently shown he is responsible for alleged minimum wage and overtime violations.

U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. said in his Friday order denying a motion for judgment on the pleadings by Michael P. Bronstein — allegedly one of the owners of ThaiNY, M-Thai, Thai Rice and Tom Yum — that Bronstein can’t escape the suit because the employees have provided enough facts for now to let the court infer that he is liable for the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law violations alleged in the complaint.

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John Troy, who represents the workers, told Law360 in an email Monday that his clients are “extremely happy” with Judge Carter’s decision on Friday because Judge Aaron on Nov. 28 had paused all proceedings until Bronstein’s motion to dismiss was decided.

 

–Additional reporting by Shayna Posses. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.

The article first appeared on Law360 at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1142042/owner-can-t-skip-out-on-nyc-thai-eatery-wage-ot-suit