MIAMI — A former employee has filed suit against the restaurant where he worked after he allegedly was denied overtime pay and claims he was forced to put his tips in an illegal tip pool.
Antonio Riccardi filed a complaint on Aug. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Piccolo Nido Inc., doing business as Sapore Di Mare Italian Seafood, alleging that the restaurant violated his rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on June 2016, he started working for the defendant as a busser and worked an average of 58 hours per week. He claims he was never paid an hourly wage and purportedly was required to participate in an invalid tip pool with non-tipped employees, specifically managers and owners, in an alleged illegal tip-pooling scheme.
The plaintiff holds Piccolo Nido Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly permitted the plaintiff to work without paying him an hourly wage and forced the plaintiff to participate in an illegal tip-pooling scheme.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendant, payment of full overtime wage, attorney's fees, costs of suit and other relief as the court deems appropriate. He is represented by Robert W. Brock II of Law Office of Lowell J. Kuvin in Miami.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida case number 16-cv-23592