Former pub owners ordered to pay workers almost $1.4M in settlement

ALBUQUERQUE — The former owners of a New Mexico restaurant and pub have been ordered to pay almost $1.4 million one year after a judge ruled that they violated a minimum wage ordinance.

Former owners Dennis Bonfantine and Janice Bonfantine will pay $1,375,000 to servers who worked at the Kellys Brew Pub and Restaurant between 2013 and 2016 for legal costs and as compensation, according to the settlement agreement.

The lawsuit was brought by 16 servers who claimed that between 2013 and 2016, they were forced to illegally pay the owners $3 per hour from their tips to cover a 2012 Albuquerque ordinance that raised the minimum wage for tipped employees from $2.13 to $5.25.

In July 2019, District Court Judge Benjamin Chavez ruled that the owners had violated the 2012 minimum wage ordinance.

Dennis and Janice Bonfantine have not admitted wrongdoing in the case despite agreeing to the settlement, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Some former servers at the Albuquerque restaurant claimed in the suit that occasionally they would owe more than they earned due to the Bonfantines’ policy.

Dennis Bonfantine declined a request for comment made by the Journal.

More than 110 workers will receive payments worth $902,000 as part of the settlement, with the amount paid dependent on the total hours they worked, said Stephanie Welch, supervising attorney and director for workers’ rights for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. The rest of the settlement will cover legal fees.