Back in July, pony-tailed celeb chef Mario Batali found himself the subject of a lawsuit filed by workers at five of his NYC area restaurants for allegedly withholding credit card tips from the staff. Absent from that litigation were employees at Batali’s flagship eatery Del Posto… until yesterday when 27 members of that restaurant’s staff sued, claiming they weren’t paid a legal wage.

Writes the AP:

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by waiters, busboys and other staffers, claims managers at Del Posto improperly pooled workers’ tips in violation of state labor laws and illegally withheld a portion of some gratuities on wine and cheese sales.

The suit claims that Del Posto employees were ranked on a point system that determined which positions would get more of the tips than others. Captains received the most, followed by bartenders, waiters and then the rest of the staff.

Additionally, staffers who worked banquets at Del Posto say they were not given their proper portion of the 23% service charge billed to the customers. Instead, they were paid a flat fee for working each banquet.

The lawsuit seeks compensation including backpay, unspecified damages and attorney’s fees.

Mario Batali, partners sued over tips at NY eatery [AP]

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