A group of former employees filed a lawsuit against a New York restaurant chain, alleging labor law violations.
The complaint, lodged by Irene Chor Ling Ma, Bernard Lap Shun Leung, Tak Y. Chan, and Zhuo Zhou Wu on October 25, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names Maxim International Group Inc., doing business as Zen Ramen & Sushi, along with its owners Celina Lin, Cindy Jin, and Jessica Chen.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants engaged in employment practices violating federal and state labor laws, including failure to pay minimum wage and overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). The complaint states that the plaintiffs were hired as wait staff but performed additional duties such as cleaning and food preparation without additional compensation. Plaintiff Ma, who worked from June 2017 until June 2024 with breaks in employment, claims her tasks regularly exceeded waiter duties by more than 20%, with no adjusted pay.
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants withheld portions of employee tips as penalties for tardiness or customer complaints and failed to provide wage statements or notices regarding pay rates and payday schedules, allegedly violating NYLL provisions.
The plaintiffs seek relief, including unpaid wages, overtime compensation, liquidated damages under both FLSA and NYLL, statutory penalties for failure to provide wage notices and accurate pay stubs (up to $5,000 per plaintiff), attorney's fees, lawsuit costs, prejudgment interest on unpaid wages, and post-judgment interest on any awarded amounts not paid within ninety days after judgment or appeal expiration. Additionally, they seek class certification for similarly situated employees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Benjamin B. Xue and Michael S. Romero from Xue & Associates P.C. in Glen Cove, New York. The case has been filed in the Eastern District of New York under Case No.: 1:24-cv-07457.