It was recently reported that Del Posto was being sued by 27 current and former employees who claim that management cheated them out of private-party tips and took 8 to 9 percent of the nightly wine sales out of the tip pool, but only now have we seized a copy of the actual complaint. It turns out Del Posto is also said to have deducted a percentage of chocolate and cheese sales from the tip pool. Read the complaint below if only to find out how exactly a four-star restaurant allegedly divvies up its tips: 6 points for captains, 5 points for bartenders, 4 points for front waiters and expediters, 3 points for food runners, 2.5 points for back waiters, and 2 points for stockers. As for private parties, runners, and back waiters are said to have gotten a flat $150, front waiters $200, and captains $250. But according to the lawsuit, they also had to pay for the laundering of their uniforms. Hey, Joe Bastianich made it clear in his memoir proposal: “You don’t mind paying fifteen bucks for a veal chop you sell for thirty dollars but paying $1.25 for a table cloth and thirty five cents for each napkin that someone gets dirty before they even have their first drink is a drag.”
