Cipriani sued over alleged labor law violations-2012-10-02Cipriani sued over alleged labor law violations-2012-10-02

NEW YORK Restaurateur Giuseppe Cipriani and his company, Cipriani USA, are being sued for allegedly violating federal and New York State labor laws, plaintiffs’ attorneys, said this week.

The lawsuit was filed in New York Federal Court on behalf of current and former servers, bartenders and a cocaptain who have worked at Cipriani 42nd Street, Cipriani Wall Street, Cipriani 23rd Street and the Rainbow Room. It alleges that the restaurateur routinely kept service charges “that customers reasonably believed were going to the workers who provided their food and drinks.”

Cipriani spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said the company had not seen the complaint, but “based on what we’ve read, this seems like a desperate attempt to conjure up the same claims...