Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Lawsuit Slapped on Cafe Habana

'Habana Girls' File Lawsuit Over Wages, Pinup Calendar

Allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour violations have roiled Cafe Habana, one of Gotham's most well known restaurants. This December 10, 2009 article in Grub Street New York (a service of nymag.com) discusses many of the salacious allegations, such as:

• Restaurant owner Sean Meenan punished waitresses who refused to star in a pinup calendar designed to generate income for an eco charity.
• Servers were forced to work in 'scantily clad' uniforms and were sent home and/or punished if they did not dress provocatively.
• One waitress was ordered to go out on a date with Owen Wilson because he was 'a good customer' and needed to be taken care of.
• A different server allegedly wrote a letter to the restaurant's management complaining about a culture of sexual harassment and was subsequently fired.
• Other servers claim that they had been pressured (illegally) to pool their tips and forswear overtime pay that should have been theirs.

The case, Johnson et. al. vs. Cafe Habana, is being handled by attorneys D. Maimon Kirschenbaum and Matthew Kadushin of Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum LLP. Plaintiffs seek remedies pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.