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Underpaid Workers Sue 2 Bros Pizza For Millions In Backpay
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 22, 2015
Modified Jun 22, 2015
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 22, 2015
Modified Jun 22, 2015
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2 Bros., the Manhattan dollar-slice emporium responsible for filling drunk and grumbling guts and killing Manhattan's corner pizzerias, is now grappling with a lawsuit from current and former employees going back six years, who claim that the pizza chain mandates 60- to 70-hour work weeks for a less-than-minimum-wage hourly rate, sans overtime.
For anyone who's taken a minute to consider the improbability of a $1 pizza slice in a city that also charges $6 for an iced coffee, this should come as no surprise. "I haven't come across one employee who was paid properly," said the workers' lawyer, Adam Slater, who believes that the suit is poised to help hundreds of 2 Bros. workers to the tune of $10 million in damages. "Number one, we hope to get all of the workers their money back. But second, we hope that the business changes its ways."
Many 2 Bros. employees allege that they have been paid flat weekly rates which, depending on the number of hours worked per week, are equivalent to well below the minimum hourly wage of $8.75. For example, plaintiff Ruben Aca says he worked 72 hour weeks at the 2 Bros. on Lexington Avenue for two years, making a flat $480 per week, or $6.66 per hour.
Anibal Alifonso Polanco has been working as a pizza maker and cashier at 2 Bros.' East 125th Street location since the fall of 2013. According to the suit, he works 60 hour weeks, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. He currently makes $459 per week, or $7.65 per hour.
Unfazed by these allegations, 2 Bros.' lawyer Howard Davis told the News, “2 Bros. pays its employees in compliance with city, state and federal law and categorically denies the claims made by the plaintiffs.”
In 2014, according to the suit, Acra got a raise to $600 a week, and is now making about $10 per hour. But even minimum wage in New York City doesn't necessarily translate to a living wage. "Of course I think the [current] minimum wage is too low," said Slater. "But the only thing I can get these workers is their back wages and... damages that can amount to as much as 200% of the unpaid overtime and minimum wage."
Today marks the fourth and final hearing for Governor Cuomo's Fast Food Wage Board. The Board is slated to present the governor with a formal minimum wage recommendation for fast food workers next month.
Tagged
2 Bros.
dollar slice
wage theft
Emma Whitford
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