Fancy Manhattan restaurant Per Se failed to pass on some gratuities meant for its waitstaff, according to a $500,000 settlement with the New York state attorney general’s office.

The restaurant, one of just six in New York with three Michelin stars, pocketed the 20% surcharge designated as a “service charge” for private-dining and banquet services from January 2011 through September 2012, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

The attorney general’s office cited a New York labor department ruling that required companies beginning in January 2011 to spell out if a service charge was something other than a gratuity, following a court ruling that said a “reasonable patron” would understand that a service charge was in lieu of a tip.

Per Se even informed some customers who inquired about the 20% service charge that it was equivalent to a gratuity, the attorney general’s office said. But instead of giving that money to workers, Per Se used it to pay routine restaurant expenses.

The restaurant, opened by French Laundry chef Thomas Keller in 2004, changed the language on its own in September 2012, the attorney general’s office said. It now calls it an “operational charge” that “is not a gratuity and is subject to 8.875% sales tax. The charge is used to offset operational expenses associated with executing your event.”

“Our employees were never short-changed and no monies intended for employees were withheld,” a Per Se spokesman said. “Our employees are among the best compensated in the restaurant industry because they are the best in the business. The Attorney General’s office’s own findings state that the charge was used in part to pay Per Se’s workers their industry-leading wages — a waiter at Per Se, for example, including overtime and gratuities, makes approximately $116,000 a year.”

The restaurant’s wait staff is paid between about $16.60 to $28 an hour, according to the settlement.

The settlement gives Per Se, located in the Time Warner Center that overlooks Central Park, 30 days to devise a formula to split the $500,000 among eligible employees and former employees. It also must try to track down former employees. Any money that is not claimed within two years goes to the state’s Office of Unclaimed Funds in the name of the employee.