Attorney: Labor Suit Against Uncle Bacala's 'Ridiculous'

Representatives for , the Garden City Park restaurant alleged to have paid its workers less than minimum wage and failed to compensate workers for overtime, called the U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit “absolutely ridiculous.”

Uncle Bacala’s, an Italian seafood restaurant, is the latest eatery sued by the Department of Labor. The complaint, filed in the Eastern District Court of New York, alleges the restaurant paid its workers less than minimum wage and failed to compensate the workers for overtime.  The suit also alleges the restaurant failed to keep accurate time records for all the hours worked by its employees.

“Busboys, food runners and kitchen workers at this restaurant provided their employer with honest labor, and should have received at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay,” said Irv Miljoner, director of the Wage and Hour Division office of the U.S. Department of Labor, in a statement.

Hogwash claims Perry Heidecker, a labor and employment law attorney with Lake Success-based Milman Labuda Law Group who is representing the owners of Uncle Bacala’s.

He characterized the labor department’s claims as "not only not true, it offends common sense. Who’s going to work 10 hours a week for nothing?”

The attorney suggests some of the employees are also not legally covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The initial conference will be held June 16 before United States Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle.

New Hyde Park Patch will update you as more information becomes available.