CLEVELAND — A former employee at the since closed Corky and Lenny's Restaurant and Deli in Woodmere has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the owners of the iconic eatery owe her and other workers unpaid wages.
In the filing, Michelle Gilmore — a server at Corky and Lenny's for more than three years — accuses owners Kenny and Amanda Kurland of illegally deducting payments for lunch breaks that weren't taken as well as underpaying for overtime hours. The suit comes less than a week after the restaurant abruptly shut its doors for the last time.
According to the complaint, employees were automatically deducted 30 minutes of wages for each shift of at least six hours even when they did not take lunch breaks. Gilmore claims the Kurlands did away with a COVID-era system of workers marking which days they did not take such breaks, and despite receiving assurances from Amanda Kurland that this would be rectified, it never was, per the suit.
Additionally, Gilmore contends that for each hour of overtime (i.e. any hour over 40 per week) she and others worked, they received an OT wage of $6.98 per hour, or 1 1/2 times the minimum wage for tipped employees in Ohio. Gilmore says their OT pay actually should've been $9.30 an hour based on their salaries at the time.
Furthermore, Gilmore alleges both Kenny and Amanda Kurland "had an economic interest in not paying Gilmore and similarly situated employees for all hours earned." The restaurant's revenues were more than $500,000 per year from 2020-23, per court documents.
Corky and Lenny's closed this past Wednesday after Kenny Kurland told his wife Amanda he was "done" running the restaurant. She told 3News he had been mulling it for some time and had "just hit a breaking point."
"I want to be sure to let everyone know how incredibly grateful we are, the family, for over 67 years of business," she added.
The deli held one last sale Friday and Saturday to clear out the rest of its food, but the Kurlands say Corky and Lenny's could have a future down the road. Sources tell us that future could involve catering or takeout.
Meanwhile, Gilmore has invited her fellow coworkers to join her lawsuit. The complaint asks for monetary damages, but does not give a specific amount.