Galicia v. 861 Rest. Inc., 1:14-cv-01235

Background

Park Café, a NYC restaurant, paid some employees a base hourly wage plus tips; plaintiffs are current/former servers and a busboy alleging wage violations.
Plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on: improper use of tip credits (FLSA & NYLL), failure to pay uniform maintenance pay, WTPA wage-notice/pay-statement violations, and entitlement to liquidated damages.
Defendants provided some annual wage notices (one signed Feb. 7, 2013) and weekly paystubs; hourly rates did not appear on weekly statements until Jan. 1, 2013.
Defendants verbally told employees they would receive tips and had posted minimum-wage information; they did not provide written notices explicitly stating they would take a tip credit or detailed §203(m) notices.
Park Café supplied one or two uniform items (apron, logo vest), occasionally replaced them, but did not pay uniform maintenance allowances.
Parties submitted competing evidence; the court resolved which issues had no genuine dispute of material fact and which required trial.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
FLSA tip-credit notice: whether employer satisfied §203(m) notice requirement	Plaintiffs: defendants never provided the specific notice required for taking a tip credit, so tip credit is unavailable	Defendants: verbal notices, paystubs, and posted materials show employees knew they received tips and were credited	Held: Court granted summary judgment for plaintiffs — defendants failed to show the requisite notice; cannot take tip credit under FLSA
NYLL tip-credit notice: whether written notice required by NY law was provided	Plaintiffs: defendants did not provide the statutorily required written, bilingual notice and signed acknowledgment	Defendants: point to general wage notices/posters and pay records	Held: Court granted summary judgment for plaintiffs — no written notices showing tip-credit amount; cannot take tip credit under NYLL
Uniform maintenance pay under NY law: whether employees are owed reimbursement	Plaintiffs: aprons/vests were required uniforms and maintenance pay is owed	Defendants: uniforms are likely "wash-and-wear," furnished in sufficient number and occasionally replaced (exempt)	Held: Denied plaintiffs’ motion — genuine disputes remain about materials, laundering needs, and sufficiency of provided uniforms under the wash-and-wear exemption
WTPA wage notices/pay statements (statutory damages)	Plaintiffs: defendants failed to give timely wage notices and omitted hourly rates from pay statements, entitling them to statutory damages	Defendants: argue some notices/statements were provided later; dispute hire dates and applicability	Held: Granted in part — Cucu entitled to WTPA wage-notice damages for Feb 1, 2012–Feb 7, 2013; Cucu and Iniguez entitled to pay-statement statutory damages for periods before Jan 1, 2013 (capped statutory amounts)

Key Cases Cited

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (establishes summary judgment burden-shifting framework)
Gallo v. Prudential Residential Servs., Ltd. P'ship, 22 F.3d 1219 (2d Cir. 1994) (scope of court's role at summary judgment)
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (evidence must be viewed in light most favorable to nonmovant)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (materiality and genuine issue standards at summary judgment)
Reich v. Chez Robert, Inc., 28 F.3d 401 (employer bears burden to show notice for tip credit)
Crawford v. Franklin Credit Mgmt. Corp., 758 F.3d 473 (2d Cir.) (allocation of burdens at summary judgment where nonmoving party bears proof at trial)
Herman v. RSR Sec. Servs. Ltd., 172 F.3d 132 (2d Cir.) (liquidated damages and employer good-faith defense under FLSA)
Reich v. S. New England Telecommunications Corp., 121 F.3d 58 (2d Cir.) (good-faith inquiry for liquidated-damages avoidance)
Overnight Motor Transp. Co. v. Missel, 316 U.S. 572 (liquidated damages compensate delay in receiving owed wages)