Restaurant Association and BP Markowitz Offer Free Seminar for Restaurateurs This Wednesday

NY, NY (12/14/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) has joined with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to offer a free seminar to help Brooklyn restaurateurs better understand and comply with the myriad of State and Federal wage and hour regulations.

The seminar is offered in response to a recent press release by the New York State Department of Labor that it found a number of Brooklyn restaurants were not in compliance with wage and hour regulations during a targeted investigation carried out during April 2009.

"While there may have been a few exceptions out there, the majority of restaurant owners want to take care of and invest in their employees," said Andrew Rigie, NYSRA's Director of Operations. "Some may have been out-of-compliance simply because they didn't understand how to correctly implement the staggering volumes of regulations facing anyone who owns a foodservice business in New York today."

"At NYSRA, it is central to our mission to help restaurant owners understand the many regulations with which they are faced. So we developed this seminar with our NYC Chapter board member and wage and hour hospitality law expert Carolyn Richmond, Fox Rothschild LLP, as a very positive next step to address this issue," said Rigie. "Borough President Markowitz is such a great supporter of the Brooklyn restaurant scene and his involvement greatly adds to this event."

"There is obviously a need for more information in this area, and this seminar is a timely forum for restaurant owners and operators to get the very latest on labor regulations in the food service industry," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. "Brooklyn's economy depends on our world-renowned restaurants, and their employees depend on them for their livelihoods-and all our eateries being in compliance is a win-win for everybody."

The seminar will take place at 2:00 p.m. on December 16 at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will address the audience and Andrew Rigie will moderate a discussion with Carolyn Richmond, Co-Chair, Hospitality Practice Group, Fox Rothschild LLP, regarding wage and hour regulatory compliance and field questions. Food service operators and managers interested in attending should RSVP to Victoria Gifford/NYSRA at: 212-898-9160 or Victoria@nysra.net.

Please note: Media are welcome before and after the event. However, the actual event itself is limited to restaurant and foodservice professionals.

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The New York State Restaurant Association, founded in 1935, is the leading business association for the restaurant and hospitality industry in New York State. Comprised of more than 56,000 restaurants, bars, clubs, New York restaurants represent more than 628,000 employees and sales of approximately $27 billion. Along with the New York State Restaurant Association and New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, NYSRA and its chapters work to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing hospitality industry. For more information, visit www.nysra.org