Global Courant
California restaurant owners are paying about $140,000 in back wages and compensation to 35 employees after they tried to use a fake priest to get them to confess their “sins at work.”
Che Garibaldi Inc., which operates the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Garibaldi in Sacramento, will transfer the money after an investigation by the US Department of Labor.
Under oath, a Taqueria Garibaldi employee explained how the restaurant offered a supposed priest to hear about their workplace’s ‘sins’, while other employees reported that a manager falsely claimed that immigration issues would be raised by the department’s investigation. a press release from the DOL.
“This employer’s despicable attempts to retaliate against employees were designed to silence employees, obstruct an investigation, and prevent back wages from being recovered.”
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Che Garibaldi Inc., which operates the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Garibaldi in Sacramento, will transfer the money after an investigation by the US Department of Labor. (Google Maps)
The DOL says Garibaldi, as well as owners and operators Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manual Martinez Galindo and Alejandro Rodriguez, have agreed to a judgement of Judge William B. Shubb in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, and would compensate his employees in the wake of a federal investigation into his workplace practices.
The DOL said the restaurant’s use of a fake priest to confess sins at work is “arguably one of the most shameless” forms of retaliation, according to the release.
The establishment’s priest allegedly urged employees to “get the sins out” by questioning them about stealing from their employer, being late for work, or doing anything else to harm their bosses, according to the DOL.
Investigators also found that Taqueria Garibaldi employees were being denied their overtime pay, which the release said violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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The DOL said the restaurant’s use of a fake priest to confess sins at work is “arguably one of the most shameless” forms of retaliation, according to the release. (BanksPhotos via Getty Images/File)
“They also learned that the employer illegally paid managers out of the tip pool, threatened employees with retaliation and adverse immigration consequences for cooperating with the department, and fired an employee they believed had filed a complaint with the department,” the DOL said.
“The U.S. Department of Labor and its Solicitor’s Office will not tolerate workplace retaliation and will act quickly to make it clear that immigration status does not affect workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Marc Pilotin, Regional Solicitor of Labor, said in the press release.
Taqueria Garibaldi agreed to pay $70,000 in back wages, $70,000 in punitive damages, and $5,000 in civil penalties “due to the willful nature of their offenses.”
The owners of Taqueria Garibaldi were also instructed “not to take any action to deter employees from asserting their rights, interfering with any departmental investigation, or terminating, threatening or discriminating against any employee believed to have spoken to investigators,” according to the DOL.
“The U.S. Department of Labor and its Solicitor’s Office will not tolerate workplace retaliation and will act quickly to make it clear that immigration status does not affect workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Marc Pilotin, Regional Solicitor of Labor, said in the press release. (Getty / File)
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The restaurant will reportedly be hit with 10% annual interest if it fails to pay what it agreed to.
Jon Brown is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
