Manayunk 'Brew Pub' faces lawsuit from former employee

A former employee of the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant, a dining staple in Northwest Philadelphia, is suing the establishment and its owner in federal court.

Bensalem, Pa. attorney Ari R. Karpf filed the complaint, which alleges violations of the Fair Labors Standards Act, on July 29 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Troy R. Johnson.

The two defendants named in the lawsuit are Philadelphia Beer Works, Inc., doing business as Manayunk Brewing Co., and Michael Rose, the business’s owner and operator.

Through the lawsuit, Johnson claims that he never received overtime compensation for working beyond the normal 40 hours per week.

The company alleges he was fired July 10 of this year for being involved in an altercation with a female employee who yelled at, demeaned and hit the plaintiff, the lawsuit states.

However, Johnson denies being an aggressor, saying he only restrained the female coworker at the time she was allegedly assaulting him.

Furthermore, Johnson claims that his termination from the company, where he worked for 13 years, had nothing to do with the alleged altercation, but rather was “really motivated by his ongoing concerns to management about overtime violations with his compensation,” the lawsuit states.

According to the complaint, Johnson was paid $16.25 an hour for his job as a prep cook during his 13-year employment. When he found out he should be receiving compensation for those days he worked more than 40 hours per week, he raised “multiple concerns with his management, including Michael Rose, that he was not being paid overtime compensation,” the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit contains two counts of violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, one for wrongful discharge and the other for failure to pay overtime compensation.

Through his lawsuit, Johnson seeks compensation in the form of back pay, salary, bonuses, benefits, as well as job reinstatement. He also seeks damages for pain, suffering and humiliation, in addition to attorney’s fees and other costs related to the lawsuit.

Johnson has demanded a jury trial.

The federal case number is 2:11-cv-04872-MAM.