UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Two popular Upper East Side restaurants are being sued for wage theft by former employees, according to Federal court documents.
The two spots — acclaimed South African wine bar Kaia and the kosher diner Effy’s — stand accused of not paying overtime wages to workers as required by law, according to the suit.
Attorney Louis Pechman, an active pursuer of wage theft claims whose firm filed the two suits, said wage theft is a common problem in New York City restaurants.
“Restaurants in New York are notorious for wage theft violations," Pechman told Patch in a statement. "The Upper East Side is no exception."
Neither restaurant replied to Patch's requests for comments.
While the lawsuit does not specify an exact amount in damages, similar cases of Pechman's have ended with settlements in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
As examples, Heidelberg Restaurant recently settled with the firm for $170,000, Sables settled a suit in 2020 for $85,000 and Serendipity 3 settled for nearly $1 million.
Both suits accuse Effy’s and Kaia of stiffing employees on overtime pay, which is required for nearly all workers in New York, except for certain salaried employees according to waiterpay.com.
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