Caterer Morrell sued again, by wait staff

It has not been a good two weeks for Long Island caterer Scott Morrell.

On Feb. 7 he was sued by the chef and the general manager of his own company, Morrell Caterers, one of Long Island's largest kosher catering companies.

Chef Michael Savitsky and general manger Tom Cataldo charged Morrell had been serving non-kosher food to unwitting clients for more than a year.

Morrell's attorney, Steven Schlesinger, called the charges "a fiction."

Late last week Morrell was hit by another suit, this one a class action by former servers, busboys and maitre d's who alleged Morrell and his company unlawfully withheld at least $10 million from them in tips over a six-year period.

Jeffrey Brown, a partner at Carle Place-based Leeds, Morelli & Brown, said in papers filed in State Supreme Court in Mineola Thursday that Morrell led patrons to believe that a "service charge" listed in catering contracts was going to the wait and service staff.

Brown said the staff was told to turn over any cash tips to Morrell but never knew about the catering contracts. Tips may have been withheld from as many as 500 employees who worked for Morrell at Woodbury Jewish Center, Temple Beth Torah of Melville and Temple Israel of Lawrence, Brown said.

Brown said the suit over tips resulted from the previous action regarding kosher food, adding that wait and service staff "came out of the woodwork" to complain about tips.

In a statement, Schlesinger said, "I have had conversations with Mr. Morrell's labor attorney, who tells me that Mr. Morrell has been in compliance with all laws concerning employee compensation."

Morrell has 30 days to respond to the class-action complaint.