A former bartender and waitress has accused the operators of a Manhattan restaurant and bar of failing to pay required wages, overtime compensation, and unlawfully retaining tips in violation of federal and state labor laws. The complaint was filed by Gabriela Marquez on March 17, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Samarpan, Inc., doing business as Fusion HK Bar and Grill (also known as Fusion Bar and Grill Peruvian/Mexican), along with individual defendants Norma Noelia Ostos Vilca and Miguel Angel Solis Hernandez.
According to the court filing, Marquez worked at Fusion HK Bar and Grill from approximately March 5, 2021 until July 19, 2024. She alleges that throughout her employment she regularly worked more than forty hours per week without receiving appropriate overtime compensation or minimum wage as required by both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). The complaint states that defendants operated a cash-based payment system designed to evade legal obligations: “Defendants systematically failed to pay Plaintiff Marquez the minimum wage required under federal and state law, failed to pay her for spread of hours violations, and unlawfully appropriated half of her earned tips throughout her employment.”
The lawsuit outlines several specific allegations regarding working conditions at the restaurant located at 688 10th Avenue in New York City. Marquez claims she was paid a daily rate far below the legal minimum wage—even when including tips—and did not receive W-2 forms or proper pay stubs during her entire period of employment. From June 2021 through May 2023, she reports working an average of approximately ninety hours per week with shifts lasting from noon until about four in the morning. During this time frame she was allegedly paid between $60 and $80 per day plus tips.
Marquez further alleges that when she requested fewer hours due to exhaustion in mid-2023, her work schedule was reduced in retaliation. She also claims that meal breaks were inadequate—limited to brief ten-minute intervals—and that there was no accurate timekeeping system in place: “Plaintiff was not required to keep track of her time, nor… did the Defendants utilize any time tracking device such as punch cards that accurately reflected her actual hours worked.” Additionally, she asserts that owner Norma Noelia Ostos Vilca encouraged cash transactions with customers over credit card payments.
The complaint accuses defendants of intentionally violating recordkeeping requirements under both federal and state law by failing to maintain accurate payroll records or provide necessary notices about rates of pay or regular payday information. It also alleges systematic retention by management of half the tips earned by Marquez—a practice prohibited under both FLSA Section 203(m) and NYLL Section 196-d: “Throughout Plaintiff’s employment… Defendants unlawfully retained half of all tips earned by Plaintiff in violation of [the law].”
Marquez seeks recovery for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime wages, unpaid spread-of-hours wages (for shifts exceeding ten hours), unlawfully retained tips, statutory penalties for failure to provide payroll notices or wage statements as required by NYLL Sections 195(1) and (3), liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of amounts owed where applicable under law, interest on all sums due, reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs associated with litigation, as well as any other relief deemed just by the court.
The suit requests judgment on nine separate causes of action encompassing violations related to minimum wage provisions under both FLSA and NYLL; overtime provisions; tip retention; spread-of-hours compensation; failure to provide payroll notices; failure to provide wage statements; along with corresponding statutory damages for each violation. For example: “As Defendants failed to provide Plaintiff with payroll notices as required by NYLL § 195(1), Plaintiff is entitled to liquidated damages in the amount of $50.00 per day in which the violation occurred up to a maximum of $5,000.00…” Similar language is used regarding wage statement violations.
Marquez is represented by Jarret Bedo at Joseph & Norinsberg LLC. The case is identified as Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-02203.
Source: 126cv02203_Gabriela_Marquez_v_Samarpan_Complaint_Southern_District_of_New_York..pdf
