Post by The Big PINK One♥ on May 23, 2007 17:54:45 GMT -5
"I Got 99 Problems/Celeste Williams aint Gon' be one! HIT ME!
{Source}
A former 40/40 waitress is sticking rapper Jay-Z and his club with a lawsuit claiming they were not paid legally required wages.
According to New York's Daily News, former 40/40 waitress Celeste Williams filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court yesterday on behalf of herself and other workers, accusing co-owners of the 25th Street nightspot, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Juan Perez, of taking a cut of workers' tips, "willfully failing and refusing to pay them at the legally required minimum wage" and overtime.
"I find that this is a rampant violation throughout New York City," Williams' lawyer Maimon Kirschenbaum, was quoted by the New York Post.
Kirschenbaum said other club employees have been reluctant to file similar claims out of fear of retaliation, but Williams' lawsuit estimates that over 100 staffers have been shortchanged by the club.
In response, club management claims that Williams only worked at 40/40 for four days in December 2005, and club spokesman Ron Berkowitz has told the press that while 40/40 has yet to be served with papers, the allegations against the club are false.
"That certainly is not true," Berkowitz told the Daily News. "Everyone makes the minimum wage at the club, 100%."
Williams is seeking unspecified damages in her suit.
