McDonald et. al v. Black Fox Coffee 70 Pine LLC d/b/a Black Fox Coffee, Black Fox Coffee 438 West 33rd Street LLC, and Black Fox Coffee 45 East 45th LLC, and Black Fox Coffee Kiosk LLC, and Black Fox Coffee Roasters LLC, and Black Fox Coffee 550 Madison Ave LLC and Daniel Murphy, individually, Index No.:23-cv-0616

New Action filed in the United States District Court Southern District of New York

McDonald et. al v. Black Fox Coffee 70 Pine LLC d/b/a Black Fox Coffee, Black Fox Coffee 438 West 33^rd Street LLC, and Black Fox Coffee 45 East 45^th LLC, and Black Fox Coffee Kiosk LLC, and Black Fox Coffee Roasters LLC, and Black Fox Coffee 550 Madison Ave LLC and Daniel Murphy, individually, Index No.:23-cv-0616

 On January 24^th, 2023, Plaintiff McDonald, on behalf of himself, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly-situated, (collectively as “FSLA Plaintiffs” and/or “Rule 23 Plaintiffs,” as those term is defined below), by and through his attorneys, BORRELLI & ASSOCIATES, P.L.L.C., as and for his Complaint against BLACK FOX COFFEE 70 PINE LLC d/b/a BLACK FOX COFFEE, and BLACK FOX COFFEE 438 WEST 33^RD STREET LLC, and BLACK FOX COFFEE 45 EAST 45^TH LLC, and BLACK FOX COFFEE KIOSK LLC, and BLACK FOX COFFEE ROASTERS LLC, and BLACK FOX COFFEE 550 MADISON AVE LLC, (all six entities, together as “Black Fox”), and DANIEL MURPHY, individually, (together with Black Fox, where appropriate, as “Defendants”),  alleges upon knowledge as to himself and his own actions and upon information and belief as to all other matters, as follows:

Plaintiff worked for Defendants – – six legally distinct entities that together operate as a single enterprise to run at least five cafes in Manhattan, as well as the enterprise’s owner and day-to-day overseer – – as a non-managerial barista during three separate periods, first from October 30, 2018, through March 18, 2020, second from early-October 2020 until June 20, 2021, and lastly from December 13, 2021, until late-July 2022. Throughout Plaintiff’s three periods of employment, Defendants failed to pay him his proper share of tips, in violation of Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”), and the N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs (“NYCRR”).  Specifically, Defendants required Plaintiff to participate in an improper tip sharing arrangement by which pooled tips were distributed to those who were ineligible, such as managerial and back-room employees, and thus Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff the full amount of tips owed to him each workweek, and from early-October 2020 until June 20,2021, Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff any tips at all, in violation of the FLSA, the NYLL, and the NYCRR, which also constitutes conversion under New York common law. Throughout the Relevant Period, although his exact hours varied from week to week depending on the weather, Defendants required Plaintiff to work, and Plaintiff did work, more than forty hours per week.  Furthermore, Defendants violated the NYLL by failing to provide Plaintiff with: any wage statement on each payday from early-October 2020 through May 30,2021, or with an accurate wage statement on each payday throughout the rest of his employment; and an accurate wage notice at any of his three separate times of hire.

Mr. McDonald has commenced this action not only for himself but also for all his other current and/or former coworkers who were also paid improperly by the Defendants. Therefore, if any individual is or has previously been an employee of the Defendants named in the lawsuit and/or has information that may be relevant to this case, please contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com or www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248–5550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 679–5000.