Prospect Heights Bar Paid Bartender No Wages, Just Tips: Lawsuit

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A popular local bar is being accused of violating labor laws by paying a bartender only in tips for nearly all of the five years she worked there, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed last week, claims the owners of Soda Bar on Vanderbilt Avenue only paid their bartender, Polina Volkova, when she made less than $100 in tips during a shift.

Most days, that meant not paying any wages at all, according to the suit.

"On the vast majority of days, Plaintiff made at least $100 in tips, and thus for the vast majority of days, Plaintiff was paid $0 towards minimum wage by Soda Bar," the suit reads.

New York labor laws allow food service workers in New York City to be paid part of their wages in tips, but only if the employer is paying a cash wage of at least $10 per hour. Tip should make up no more than $5 per hour of their pay, according to state.

Volkova and her lawyers claim owners at Soda Bar seemed to know about these laws because they tried to cover their tracks with fake paperwork.

Owner Galina Sokolova would give Volkova, who started working at the bar in 2014, W-2 statements with a few thousand dollars per year that had "no basis in what [she] was actually compensated," according to the suit.

Sokolova also wrote checks to Volkova about once a month for $250 and asked that she cash the checks and bring her back the money.

"Plaintiff, fearing for her job and unaware of SOKOLOVA’s scheme, followed these instructions," the lawsuit reads.

The $250 per month would still not have been even half the minimum wage Soda Bar was required to pay Volkova, even if she was allowed to keep the check, the suit claims.

The lawsuit charges Soda Bar with four different counts of violating labor laws, including not paying adequate minimum wage and not giving Volkova her rate of pay, hours and other information in writing.

It asks Soda Bar to pay for all unpaid hours Volkova worked and at least $10,000 in damages.

When asked for comment, Volkova's lawyers told Patch, "We believe the complaint in this matter speaks for itself."

Two calls to Soda Bar seeking comment went unanswered.