Top Chef star settles lawsuit filed by his former employees over violation on minimum wage and overtime provisions.
The three former employees of Bryan Voltaggio has been settling their federal lawsuit against him as their lawyer has said according to The Baltimore Sun. The terms of the settlement was disclosed in a U.S. District Court document. Baltimore attorney Benjamin Davis has refused to discuss the terms.
Bryan Voltaggio, a Top Chef season 6 finalist, chef, and restaurateur was sued by his former employees last September 2014. He was sued for violations of minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with Case Number 1:15-cv-02563--ELH, as stated in the report from Eater.
The Top Chef star was said to have responded in an email saying that they were reviewing the accusations and that it was incorrect. His recent violation against the law was when he was arrested for a DUI and he was sentenced on probation as he pleaded guilty.
As reported by PR Web, the Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl were the ones of who filed the complaint on behalf of the employees against Bryan Voltaggio. Court records showed that the plaintiffs were required by the defendants to work "off- the- clock" and should arrive three hours before their scheduled shifts. They were prevented to "clock- in" until their designated schedule. The plaintiffs also stayed for two to six hours after their shifts end.
The lawsuit also alleged that the plaintiffs were consistently deceived out of their pay, thus, arised a series of wage violations by Voltaggio's company. The plaintiffs claimed that they never received the required minimum wage for each hour of work from their "off- the- clock". In addition, they also alleged that because of their unrecorded hours of work, they were forced to work for many hours.
