Davis Polk Pro Bono Win: $4.6M for Workers at NY Restaurant
Thirty-six delivery workers at a Vietnamese restaurant with two locations in Manhattan were awarded $4.6 million for wage and overtime violations in a suit handled pro bono by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
The law firm worked on the case with the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Am Law Daily reports. Some of the delivery workers, who worked at two Saigon Grill restaurants, will receive $328,000 as a result of the verdict, the New York Times reports.
Magistrate Judge Michael Dolinger said in his ruling (PDF posted by the Am Law Daily) that many delivery workers were paid only $520 a month for 260 hours of work, pay of less than $2 an hour.
He found the restaurant had illegally fined workers up to $200 for minor infractions such as letting the restaurant door slam or failing to log a delivery. He also said the delivery workers were improperly required to buy and maintain the bicycles and motorbikes they used on the job.
