A group of current and former hourly employees at a local hotel and events facility are seeking compensation for alleged unpaid overtime, delayed wage payments, and other labor law violations that they say affected dozens of workers over several years. The legal complaint was filed by Carlos Rodriguez on March 16, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against WSAF Inc., Sleepy Hollow Hotel and Conference Center LLC doing business as Sleepy Hollow Hotel, Igor Alterman, Shlomo Suchard, and Linda Ferone.
According to the filing by Rodriguez—who is represented by Romero Law Group PLLC—the defendants jointly operate a hotel, catering, banquet, and events facility specializing in kosher meals at 455 South Broadway in Tarrytown. The lawsuit alleges that Rodriguez and other non-exempt hourly employees regularly worked more than forty hours per week but were not paid required overtime rates or timely wages as mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL).
The complaint details that Rodriguez was employed as a houseman from December 11, 2023 through the present date. His duties included setting up event spaces, cleaning after events, moving furniture and equipment, serving food when needed, and performing various manual tasks such as mopping floors and carrying supplies. The document states that he frequently worked between five to seven days per week with shifts often exceeding ten hours per day. Specific examples cited include workweeks where Rodriguez allegedly worked up to 96 hours without receiving uninterrupted meal breaks or proper overtime pay.
Rodriguez claims he was consistently paid only his regular hourly rate for all hours worked—including those beyond forty per week—and did not receive an overtime premium or additional ‘spread-of-hours’ compensation required under state law for shifts longer than ten hours. The suit further alleges that payment was routinely delayed by two to five weeks after wages were earned: “Defendants frequently failed to pay Plaintiff… their compensation on a weekly basis, instead paying them their wages many weeks after the wages were earned.” This practice is claimed to have caused financial hardship for workers who depend on timely paychecks for basic expenses such as rent, groceries, utilities, medical needs, transportation costs, and childcare.
The complaint also asserts that Rodriguez used his personal vehicle to run errands for the business—including trips across county lines—and was not reimbursed for gasoline or maintenance expenses. According to the suit: “Defendants did not reimburse Plaintiff for any expenditures relating to the use of his personal vehicle… resulting in unlawful deductions to Plaintiff’s earned wages.” These alleged deductions are said to violate NYLL § 193.
Beyond individual claims by Rodriguez himself, the lawsuit seeks collective action status under federal law (for FLSA violations) as well as class action status under Rule 23 of Federal Civil Procedure (for NYLL violations). The proposed classes would cover all non-exempt hourly employees—such as housemen, servers, bussers, banquet workers, chefs, cooks, dishwashers, kitchen staffers—employed within three years prior to filing (for FLSA claims) or six years prior (for NYLL claims). Managers or executive-level employees paid fixed salaries are excluded from these groups.
The legal arguments center on whether defendants willfully failed to pay overtime rates; failed to provide accurate wage statements; neglected spread-of-hours pay; made unauthorized wage deductions; failed to provide written notice of wage rates upon hire; kept inadequate payroll records; and violated prompt payment requirements. The suit also notes previous litigation involving similar wage-and-hour allegations against some defendants.
Rodriguez alleges he confronted management about these issues multiple times in 2024 but received no remedy: “Defendant Alterman refused to pay Plaintiff an overtime premium…and stated that Defendants do not pay overtime wages.” He further claims Alterman threatened termination if he refused required overtime work.
As relief from the court Rodriguez seeks unpaid overtime wages plus liquidated damages equal to those amounts under both federal and state law; spread-of-hours compensation; reimbursement for unlawfully deducted expenses; statutory damages for failure to provide proper wage notices or statements; punitive damages where permitted; attorneys’ fees; costs; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; injunctive relief against retaliation; declaratory judgments regarding unlawful practices; class certification orders; issuance of notice to potential collective action members; and any further relief deemed just by the court.
The case is being handled by attorney David D. Barnhorn of Romero Law Group PLLC. It is identified as Case No. 7:26-cv-02129 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Source: 726cv02129_Carlos_Rodriguez_v_Wsaf_Complaint_Southern_District_of_New_York. .pdf
