During the litigation of the Department of Labor in federal court, an employee of Che Garibaldi Inc., operator of the Taquería Garibaldi, He testified that the restaurant offered employees a person identified as a priest to hear confessions during working hours. The employee stated in court that the priest urged the workers to "take away the sins" and asked them if they had robbed the employer, if they had been late for work, if they had done something to harm their employer or if they had bad intentions towards him.
In the end, the company agreed to a sentence agreed and Judge William B. Shubb of the US District Court. USA for the Eastern District of California ordered that Che Garibaldi and its owners and operators, Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manuel Martinez Galindo and Alejandro Rodriguez, They will pay $ 140,000 in arrears and damages for 35 staff members. Che Garibaldi Inc. operates two Taqueria Garibaldi restaurants in Sacramento and one in Roseville.
The court measure of May 8, 2023 is the result of an investigation by the Hours and Wages Division from the department that found that Taqueria Garibaldi denied staff overtime pay for all hours worked around 40 in a work week, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also found that the company paid administrators with joint tips from staff illegally, threatened staff with retaliation and adverse immigration consequences for cooperating with the department, and fired a worker who they believed had filed a complaint with the department.
"Under oath, a Taqueria Garibaldi employee explained how the restaurant offered an alleged priest to hear his" sins "in the workplace, while other employees reported that an administrator falsely stated that immigration issues were mentioned by the department's investigation, "said Regional Labor Attorney Marc Pilotin, in San Francisco. "This company's despicable attempts to retaliate against staff were aimed at silencing workers, obstructing an investigation, and preventing the recovery of unpaid wages".
In addition to helping with the recovery of $ 70,000 in back wages and an equivalent amount in damages, the judge ordered the restaurant and its owners to pay the department $ 5000 as civil fines for the deliberate nature of their violations.
"The US Department of Labor. USA. and their Attorney's Office will not tolerate retaliation in the workplace and will take swift steps to make it clear that immigration status has no connection to labor rights under the Act of Fair Labor Standards, "added Pilotin.
The court also ordered that the defendants be permanently prohibited from violating the FLSA. Specifically, the court ordered that Taqueria Garibaldi take no action to prevent staff from asserting their rights, interfering with any investigation by the department, or firing, threaten or discriminate against any staff member who may have spoken to the investigation team.
The division's Sacramento District Office conducted the investigation. The Department's Regional Attorney's Office in San Francisco litigated the case.
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