Jay-Z's Club Faces Pay Rap

According to this New Daily News article dated July 2, 2008, JHLLP partner Maimon Kirschenbaum may soon be doing battle with hip-hop Superstar Jay-Z. The rap legend is being accused of allowing egregious practices to go down at his 40/40 club in Chelsea. The class-action lawsuit against Jay-Z's club involves literally hundreds of plaintiffs who worked at the restaurant/club over the past several years. Plaintiffs allege wage theft, violations of labor laws and other abuse. In some instances, when customers would leave without paying their checks, wait staff would be ordered to cover bills with their own money. Twenty 40/40 employees contend that they were forced to work only for tips - that they got no wage pay at all - and that they had to pay to go on break and did not receive adequate overtime pay. Judge Loretta Preska was quoted in the article as sympathetic to the plaintiffs' case.