Chefs in New York City run into legal problems fast, whether they work in someone else’s kitchen or run their own. We help chefs with the matters that come up most: pay and workplace disputes, restaurant partnerships, health code and liquor licensing, vendor contracts, brand protection and injury claims. What follows is what those matters usually look like.
Employment and Wage-and-Hour Disputes
Chefs work long hours in high-pressure kitchens, and disputes over unpaid wages, overtime and wrongful termination are common. Some chefs are treated as independent contractors when they should be employees, which affects both taxes and benefits. Discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims also arise. We review employment agreements and pursue unpaid wages, and a chef who suspects underpayment should keep contemporaneous records and talk to counsel about whether the claim has merit. Chef positions sit at the intersection of several wage-and-hour rules that regularly produce disputes.
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Overtime classification
Chefs are often classified as exempt from overtime under the executive or administrative exemption. The exemption depends on the chef’s actual duties, not the title. A working chef who primarily cooks may not qualify for the exemption even if called a “head chef” or “executive chef.”
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Tip pools
Tipping in restaurants is heavily regulated. Chefs and other back-of-house workers traditionally could not share in tip pools, though federal law changed in 2018 to permit broader pools as long as no tip credit is taken. New York law adds further restrictions.
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Spread of hours
New York requires an additional hour of minimum wage for a shift that spans more than ten hours in a day. Long restaurant shifts often trigger this.
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Meal credits
A restaurant that provides meals to employees can take a meal credit against minimum wage, but the credit is limited to specific amounts and subject to specific rules.
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Off-the-clock work
Pre-shift prep, post-shift cleanup and meal periods that are not truly free time all count as compensable work.
Restaurant Ownership and Partnership Agreements
Many chefs want to open their own restaurant, which usually means forming a business with partners or investors. Disputes over profit sharing, control and responsibilities follow when the agreement did not settle those questions at the start. We draft and review partnership agreements to prevent that, and if a dispute does happen we protect the chef’s ownership rights, in court if needed. A chef partnering with investors should have answers to each of these questions before signing.
| Term | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Equity or participation | Does the chef receive an ownership interest, or only a share of profits? |
| Vesting | Does the chef’s equity vest over time, and what triggers acceleration or forfeiture? |
| Control | Who makes operational, financial and high-level strategic decisions? |
| Compensation | Does the chef draw a salary in addition to the ownership interest? |
| Buy-sell provisions | What happens if the chef leaves, dies or becomes disabled? |
| Non-compete | Can the chef open another restaurant during or after the venture? |
| Naming rights | Can the restaurant’s name include or trade on the chef’s name, and what happens to it if the chef leaves? |
Each of these has consequences that are not obvious until they matter. A thorough agreement at the start is far cheaper than the dispute later.
Naming Rights and Personal Brand
For a well-known chef, the name itself is a substantial business asset, and the naming rights agreement should deal with it directly: whether the restaurant may use the chef’s name in its own (for example, “Chef [Name]’s Restaurant”), what rights it has to use the chef’s image, biography and reputation in marketing, and what happens to the name and likeness rights if the chef leaves. It should also say whether the chef may open another restaurant under their own name, whether the chef may endorse other products or services, and who holds the chef’s media and television rights. Famous chefs who skip these questions sometimes find their own name owned by a restaurant they no longer have any connection to.
Health Code Compliance and Inspections
New York City has strict health and safety rules for restaurants, and violations can mean fines, closure or loss of permits. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspects restaurants and assigns letter grades the public can see. Violations are scored on a points system across several categories, and the total determines the grade (A, B or C). A critical violation can result in immediate closure, with re-inspection required before reopening, and repeated violations or a failure to fix noted problems can lead to permit revocation.
A restaurant with a high violation score can request adjudication and contest specific violations, presenting evidence that a violation was not present or was corrected. Many violations are successfully challenged this way. The hearings are technical, and represented restaurants typically do better than unrepresented ones. We respond to violations, challenge fines and handle hearings with city agencies.
Contracts With Vendors and Suppliers
Chefs depend on vendors for food, equipment and services, and disputes come up over deliveries, the quality of goods and payment terms. A supply contract has to be clear and fair to both sides. We draft and review vendor contracts, and when a vendor fails to perform we enforce the agreement or seek damages.
Trademarks, Recipes and Brand Protection
Chefs create distinctive dishes and build brands around them. Recipes themselves are hard to protect, but the name, logo and brand can be secured. Full protection has several layers: federal trademark registration of the restaurant name and logo, New York state trademark registration as a supplement, domain name registration in the relevant extensions, reservation of social media handles, monitoring for infringing use by other restaurants or businesses, and enforcement against infringers. We register trademarks and take action when someone copies a chef’s work or misuses a business identity. The cost of protection is modest compared to the brand value at stake.
Liquor Licensing and Alcohol Liability
A restaurant that serves alcohol needs a liquor license, and the State Liquor Authority process is technical and slow. The initial application involves character investigations and community board review. The 500-foot rule limits licenses near other licensed establishments, and the 200-foot rule prohibits licenses near schools and houses of worship. Community board opposition can effectively block a license in some neighborhoods, and a license may come with conditions limiting hours, music or other operations. Licenses also have to be transferred when a restaurant is sold.
Once licensed, a restaurant faces disciplinary action for service violations such as serving minors, serving intoxicated persons or serving after hours, up to and including loss of the license. There may also be civil liability if a customer is over-served and causes harm. We help restaurants obtain and keep their licenses and defend claims arising from alcohol service. Licensing counsel should be involved early in the planning, before a problem becomes an obstacle.
Personal Injury and Liability Claims
Restaurants face injury claims from several directions: customers who slip and fall on the premises, customers who claim food poisoning, customers who react to an undisclosed allergen, choking and other medical events on the premises, employees injured on the job (workers’ compensation and potentially negligence claims), and patrons injured by other patrons who say the restaurant should have prevented it. Each category is defended differently. General commercial liability insurance covers most of these claims, but deductibles, policy limits and exclusions matter when a claim is substantial. We defend injury claims and manage the insurance side.
Dispute Resolution and Litigation
Disputes arise with partners, employees, landlords and customers. Some can be settled by negotiation or mediation; others end up in court. We help chefs choose the right approach and represent them in either setting.
To discuss a matter, call the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].
