A Copiague pizzeria was accused of underpaying workers and violating federal labor laws, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.
The agency’s Long Island office filed a lawsuit against Gaetano and Grace Pinello, owners of Mama’s Pizzeria on Montauk Highway, alleging that they required their 24 employees to work more than 40 hours weekly without paying overtime and that many were not paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 hourly. An investigation found that the pizza shop owners did not keep proper employment records as required under the Fair Labor Standards Act since May 2006, the agency said in a statement.
“We will not hesitate to file suit against employers who willfully violate the law by deliberately failing to properly pay their employees for all the hours they work,” said Irv Miljoner, district director for the Wage and Hour Division of the labor department’s Long Island office. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeks back pay and damages for the employees.
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As a former employee myself all i have to say is karma is a b*tch! I quit a few years ago because they payed us less then minimum wage, required us work over 50 hours a week, never gave us a break or food to eat, and over all just treated us like absolute garbage! Their attitude is not only notice by their staff, but by many customers. I’m actually surprised only 24 people are suing them and not many more. What comes around goes around.
applebees does the same with their servers they do not pay minimum wage they only pay 4.10 an hour is that not illegal? even when they sometimes come home with a few dollars in tips!!! something seems wrong about that!
I used to work there some years ago, and these greedy people have been in trouble with the Labor Dept before. I can state fisrt hand that these greedy low lives would never give the change to the waiters or waitress when ever they (the wait staff) would bring up a check that was left for them to keep the change, and also the never paid thier bus boys, they would collect a certain amount of money ($10-$15)from the wait staff (no matter how much they made), and then the owners would combine the money and pay the bus boys as if it were thier salary and not thier (the bus boys) tip out, bus boys are suppossed to get 15% of the wait staffs tips and paid salary seperately, but they never did that and it had been going on for at least 17 years and thats why I quit. How they are still in business is unbeliveable, I hope they get nailed to the wall for this one . ITS ABOUT TIME they got caught, as my family nor I ever eat there for this reason, I hope the Feds close them down. DONT EAT AT MAMAS, they are greedy scam artists, and they have bitten the hands that feed them.
Mamas has the WORST reputation………………of being very greedy selfish people.I have eaten there and had the waiter and waitresses come over to me and tell me how mean the owners are……..It was amazing we all had a laugh about that……Here they are working for them and talking about them and getting paid …..Wow…….They are a very nasty greedy family who never gets enough and thay are STILL miserably unhappy?????? Just look at their mugs when you go in the owner Sal is like aviscious bullbog NEVER smiles…….Grace will smile every now and then but you know it is a phony smile, And the sons….Oh well the apple don’t fall far from the rotten tree !!!! No more Mamas for us and our family and friends………Good for them that they got caught……………I’m sure there is more illegal antics to come………….VERY NASTY PEOPLE !!!!!
both of the previous commenters are taking an UNAMERICAN stand!!! this is AMERICA !! with wonderful laws to protect us !!! The workers DID NOT BREAK THE LAWS !!!! Mamma’s Pizza BROKE THE LAW !!!!
I say to all Momma,s Pizza workers –UNIONIZE !!!!!!
ITS THE AMERICAN WAY !!!!!!!!
The issue that I have with all of it is greed on everyones behalf. The owners and the workers. The owners because they basically have indentured servants. The workers because they are bitching. There is nothing stopping them from walking. That will or should at least open the owners eyes. Vote with your actions.
My issue is with un-balanced laws and intrusion upon the free marketplace. If an employer fails to pay minimum wage, overtime, etc., he or she is subject to penalties and public criticism. Yet if an employee fails to satisfactorily perform their duties, they are simply subject to dismissal and can go spread their cancerous attitude at another employer’s workplace. How is that balanced? Additionally, it is employers who fuel the economic engine and therefore should be revered, not the employees, who face it, are always replaceable. Also, while there are minimum wage laws to “protect” workers, why are there no maximum wage laws to benefit employers??? Essentially, this is an area where the government DOERS NOT BELONG.
whatever a worker earns , belongs to the worker!! It does not belong to the employer!! proof of this is the fact that they are being charged with a crime by the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. . they BROKE THE LAW !!
and anyone who thinks they were right to break the law is UNAMERICAN!! The previous commenter has an issue with the Laws of the UNITED STATES. The previous commenter is ANTI – AMERICAN !!
It doesn’t matter how successful the restaurant is, whatever they earn belongs to the owners, not the employees. Redistribution of wealth is un-American. Wage laws are unbalanced (anti-business/pro-worker) and were declaraed unconstututional by the US Supreme Court in 1938.
Here is another example of corporate GREED. This restaurant makes MAKES ALOT OF MONEY, they are always packed and you have to wait an hour to be seated, they can afford to give their workers alittle bit more, the owners will still get rich. The guy who commented before is probably a business owner himself and he wants to live high on the hog while his workers live in poverty . Mommas pizza BROKE THE LAW, whoever reports them are not RATS , just good citizens .. To mommas employees i say:
UNIONIZE NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!
Another example of the incompetent government interfering in the free market. When will it stop? These people run a successful business so that suddenly makes them a target? If the employees don’t like it there, they never should have gotten jobs there, but now that they do work for this couple, they need to “man-up” and stop ratting them out!