Three older French waiters will have their day in court against the iconic midtown Manhattan restaurant "21," whose director of operations allegedly fired them out of pro-Bush, anti-French fervor.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants "singled out older employees of French national origin with fabricated and false allegations of drinking on the job or other malfeasance and then terminat[ed] those employees."
The firings were part of "a concerted and egregious course of action to rid [itself] of its older and long-term employees of French national origin," according to the complaint.
The restaurant and its co-defendant owner, Orient-Express Hotels, moved to dismiss, alleging among other things that the waiters' collective bargaining agreement compelled arbitration.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich disagreed, and denied the motion to dismiss.
"When giving the words of the Agreement their 'plain meaning,' it is clear that arbitration 'may' occur at the petitioner's option or mutual agreement of the parties," she held in Bordet v. 21 Club, 108516/05. "Neither situation exists here."
|