Restaurant in 'Sex and the City' sued over wages

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A Manhattan restaurant made famous by its appearance in the television series "Sex and the City" underpays wait staff and shortchanges them out of tips, a lawsuit filed on Wednesday claimed.

The suit, filed by three former servers against the celebrity eateries Pastis, which featured in the last season of the hit show, and Balthazar, another famed New York restaurant, seeks class action status and monetary damages. Both restaurants are owned by Keith McNally.

It is the latest of several lawsuits in New York to allege workers at hot restaurants were paid below the U.S. federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour, not paid overtime and unfairly had to give managers a portion of the tips, which most New York waiters rely on to earn a decent living.

This lawsuit said that if a customer left without paying their bill, that amount was deducted from the waiter's weekly wages, while $5 per shift was also deducted to pay napkin folders. Other staff were too fearful of losing their jobs to complain.

McNally was not immediately available for comment.

Other restaurants and nightspots sued over similar unfair labor practice claims include ones owned by actor Robert De Niro, hip-hop producer and rapper Jay-Z and French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. (Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Michelle Nichols)