Jay-Z may have been all smiles at a private dinner in London co-hosted by GQ magazine, but the state of the 40/40 Club is hardly a laughing matter.

A New York federal judge approved a class-action suit against the 40/40 Club in Manhattan on Tuesday, after a lawyer for a group of waiters at the restaurant argued that the nightclub, which is co-owned by Jay-Z, had violated federal minimum-wage laws by withholding paychecks from the workers.

According to the suit, some former and current 40/40 employees claim they were not paid for overtime, were forced to pay for bottle breakages out of their own pockets and were told they had to pick up the tab on patrons who walked out without paying.

There are currently 20 workers involved in the suit, but their lawyer, Maimon Kirschenbaum, told MTV News that Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska’s ruling on Tuesday could open the door for potentially “hundreds” of others to join the suit. [source]

I would expect this type of behavior from the incumbents of the wig crypt but not Mr. Carter! I knew it was only a matter of time before T.Error Mari, Rell, and Amil rallied together to get that paper. Peep a picture of a fan going bonkers over Mr. Bust It Creole after the jump.